The beginning of May was an extremely stormy time for our sun.
A strong solar storm lit up skies around the world with fascinating and intense aurora borealis. Surprisingly, its effects were felt far beyond our planet’s atmosphere, even on the ocean floor.
Ocean Networks Canada’s instruments, stationed deep beneath the ocean’s surface, detected large disturbances in Earth’s magnetic field.
These instruments, which act as underwater observatories, are located up to 2.7 kilometers below the ocean’s surface. These are primarily used as magnetic compasses for monitoring the ocean off the coast of Canada.
ONC’s underwater observatories were able to record the effects of the powerful solar storm that impacted Earth in May. The data suggested “temporary distortions” in Earth’s magnetic field and showed how far-reaching these solar events can be.
“The reach of these data recordings miles below the ocean surface is a highlight[s] The extent of the solar flare last weekend suggests this[s] that the data could be useful to better understand the geographic extent and intensity of these storms,” said Kate Moran, ONC President and CEO.
Data anomaly
Solar storms, or geomagnetic storms, occur when our host star emits massive bursts of energy in the form of solar flares and coronal mass ejections. The rapid stream of particles interacts with the Earth’s magnetosphere and results in auroras.
Aside from auroras, these storms can disrupt satellite communications and potentially impact power grids and navigation systems.
The underwater observatories are located on the west and east coasts of Canada. Compasses at a depth of 25 meters showed movements in the range of +30 to -30 degrees, confirming the enormous influence of the solar storm even at such remote depths.
Detection of a solar storm
ONC researchers noticed anomalies in the data during routine quality checks. At first it was thought that they were caused by an earthquake.
“I looked into whether it might have been an earthquake, but that didn’t make much sense because the changes in the data lasted too long and happened in different places at the same time,” said Alex Slonimer, a scientific data specialist at ONC.
“Then I investigated whether it was a solar flare since the sun has been active recently,” Slonimer added.
In fact, the data fluctuation was related to magnetic disturbances caused by solar storms. The scientists found that the peak deviations of the compass needles coincided with the most active and colorful auroras.
“The next two years will be the peak of the 11-year solar cycle. After a decade of relative inactivity, auroral events like this past weekend are likely to become more common in the next few years, although the Sun’s variability makes accurate prediction of such events impossible,” said Justin Albert, a professor of physics at the University of Victoria, who runs the ONC Leads initiative.
“ONC’s network could provide very useful additional insight into the effects of solar activity on Earth’s geomagnetism,” Albert concluded in the press release.
The data collected by these underwater observatories could provide crucial insights into how intensely solar atoms impact the Earth’s surface. However, it is unclear whether these disturbances affected marine life. Perhaps these revelations will open up a new research topic.
As the 11-year solar cycle reaches its peak, more stunning northern lights are expected.
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Mrigakshi Dixit Mrigakshi is a science journalist who loves to write about space exploration, biology and technological innovations. Her professional experience spans both broadcast and digital media, allowing her to learn different narrative formats. Her work has been featured in well-known publications such as Nature India, Supercluster and Astronomy Magazine. If you have any pitches in mind, please don’t hesitate to email her.