Post on 09-Apr-2018
8/8/2019 Geomagnetic Storms & Their Effect on Humankind
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1. An introduction on Geomagnetic storm
2.Types of GM storms
3.Effects & Consequences
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Schematic view on CME from sun (left) to Earth (right) through IMF
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CME (Coronal Mass Ejection) from Sun
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Magnetopause
Magnetosphere in the near-Earth space environment
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Hourly Dst values for a storm event
Recurrent stormsNon recurrent storms::
Sudden commencement
Gradual commencement
Initial phaseMain phase
Recovery phase
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Geomagnetic storm effects
1). Radiation hazards to humans
2).Biological effects
3). Disrupted systems
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1). Radiation hazards to humans
very-high-energy particles that can cause radiation
poisoning to humans (and mammals in general).
When they penetrate into living cells can cause
chromosome damage, cancer, and a host of other
health problems. Large doses can be fatal immediately.
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2). Biology
Studies indicate that physically stressed human
biological systems may respond to fluctuations in the
geomagnetic field.
The degradation of homing pigeons & migrating
mammals (Ex. Whales, dolphins) navigational
abilities during geomagnetic storms.
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3). Disruptedsystems
a. Communications
Ionospheric storms can affect radio communication at
all latitudes. Some radio frequencies are absorbed and
others are reflected, leading to rapidly fluctuating
signals and unexpected propagation paths.
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b. Navigation systems
S ystems such as GPS, LORAN, and OMEGA are
adversely affected when solar activity disrupts their signal
propagation. Airplanes and ships used the very low
frequency signals from these transmitters to determine
their positions. During solar events and geomagnetic
storms, the system gave navigators information that is
inaccurate by as much as several miles.
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c. Satellite hardware damage
GM storms and increased solar UV emission heat
Earth's upper atmosphere, causing it to expand. The
heated air rises, and the density at the orbit of satellites
up to about 1,000 km increases significantly. This resultsin increased drag on satellites in space, causing them to
slow and change orbit slightly. Unless LEO satellites are
routinely boosted to higher orbits, they slowly fall, and
eventually burn up in Earth's atmosphere.
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d. Geologic exploration
Earth's magnetic field is used by geologists to
determine subterranean rock structures. For the most
part, these geodetic surveyors are searching for oil, gas,
or mineral deposits. They can accomplish this only when
Earth's field is quiet, so that true magnetic signatures
can be detected.
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e. Electric grid
Due to a huge GM storm on March 13, 1989 in
Quebec, as well as across parts of the northeastern
U.S., the electrical supply was cut off to over 6 million
people for 9 hours.
130 million people would be left without power and
350 transformerswould be broken, with a cost totaling
2 trillion dollars during another storm.
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f. Pipelines
Flow meters in the pipeline can transmit erroneous flow
information, and the corrosion rate of the pipeline is
dramatically increased.
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http://spaceweather.com/
References:
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Schematic view of Earths atmospheric layers