Infrastructure protectionImpact of solar storm on U.S. infrastructure cannot be predicted with certainty
Of the many threats to the U.S. electric grid, from cyberattacks to terrorism, industry experts agree that the most catastrophic, yet least likely to occur, threat is a magnetic space storm which could shut down the grid and cause other infrastructure to fail. Previous large scale solar storms include the 1859 Carrington Event — the strongest storm on record — and a March 1989 coronal mass ejection which caused a 9-hour blackout in Quebec.
Of the many threats to the U.S. electric grid, from cyberattacks to terrorism, industry experts agree that the most catastrophic, yet least likely to occur, threat is a magnetic space storm which could shut down the grid and cause other infrastructure to fail. Previous large scale solar storms include the 1859 Carrington Event — the strongest storm on record — and a March 1989 coronal mass ejection which caused a 9-hour blackout in Quebec.
These solar storms are caused by violent eruptions on the surface of the Sun and are accompanied by coronal mass ejections — massive bursts of solar wind and magnetic fields being released into space.
RT reports that a 2012 Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) internal report on the effects of such a storm suggests that the actual impact and damage from a future solar storm is unknown, and the topic requires further study. “Based on an analysis of many space weather studies, there does not appear to be specific agreement among space weather and electric industry experts regarding space weather impacts on the U.S. electric grid,” the report read, adding that, however, there is “general agreement among the experts that extreme geomagnetic storms could have significantly damaging impacts on the U.S. electric grid.”
After being detected by satellites, a solar storm would reach the earth in twenty-four to seventy-two hours and could affect up to 100 million Americans. Failed transformers and transmission lines would lead to a shutdown of water systems, refrigerators, computer systems, oil and gas pipelines, and many other electrically operated systems. Some grid operators, however, note that most systems will regain electricity shortly after a solar storm. The FEMA report predicts that within thirty-six hours of the storm passing, sixty-five million Americans would regain their electricity, and after two weeks another twenty-five million people would be reconnected to the grid.
“It occurs rarely, can’t be predicted, full protection is impossibly expensive and the potential impact ranges from inconvenient to cataclysmic,” says Mark Sauter, coauthor of the book Homeland Security: A Complete Guide, who obtained the report under the Freedom of Information Act.
The United Kingdom’s Meteorological Office (Met Office) launched in October a £4.6 million Space Weather Operations Center to protect against future solar storms. Working with the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the center will forecast the potential impact of a solar storm on Earth.
“The Met Office Space Weather Operations Center is the culmination of more than three years’ work drawing on the collective resources and expertise of the U.K. and U.S. It’s a new, emerging and exciting area of science where understanding is growing rapidly,” said the Met Office Space Weather Business manager Mark Gibbs.
As part of the government’s National Security Strategy, solar storms are now included in the National Risk Register, along with Icelandic volcanic eruptions and the flu virus.
