livingston
20×102mm Vulcan
[Abstract] Most solar storms produce only minor disquieting affects on Earth. Typically one
might expect short-term electrical power blackouts, short lived communication outages, rerouting
of aircraft, loss of a few satellites and a beautiful “aurora borealis” in the nights sky from a large
solar storm.
But as the intensity of a solar storm increases like a wild beast, the storm can begin to develop the
capacity to create a major disaster on Earth. The difference in solar storm intensity is like the
difference between being hit with a tropical rainstorm and being devastated by a Category 5
hurricane. The solar storm of 1-2 September 1859, which began with a solar flare so strong that
it was subsequently named the Carrington Flare, was such a beast.
Oak Ridge National Laboratories estimated that only a solar storm just slightly stronger than the
13 March 1989 storm (Dst = 589 nT) would have the capacity to produce a cascading blackout
involving the entire Northeastern sector of the United States. So the question is “What damage
would a spawned geomagnetic storm like the one of 2 September 1859 (Dst = 1,760 nT) bring?”
Would it simultaneously degrade and damage several unique large electrical transformers at key
electrical generating stations taking down the massive power grid? Would the long lead-time
required to manufacture and install replacement equipment result in major year long electrical
blackouts, rolling blackouts and brownouts? How would a long-term lack of stable electricity
affect advanced civilization?
This paper dissects and analyzes the various threats created by Great solar storms.
http://www.breadandbutterscience.com/SSTA.pdf