Beyond ‘grid down’ – Solar flares can also disrupt railway signaling systems and underground conduit pipes

‘Solar flares may negatively impact the planet’s power grids, railway systems, and underground pipelines through a phenomenon called geomagnetically induced currents (GICs), a recent study found. These effects may disrupt food logistics, manufacturing, electronic transactions and internet functions, experts warn.
To examine how solar storm-induced GICs affect the planet’s structures, scientists at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) collaborated with heliospheric scientists, magnetospheric physicists, power engineers, and emergency management officials from various research institutions and industries during a pair of intensive week-long workshops in 2016.
According to researchers, the sun regularly ejects a stream of magnetic solar material called solar wind, as well as occasional huge clouds of solar material known as coronal mass ejections. The research team said these solar materials interact with the planet’s magnetic field, which in turn leads to temporary changes. As a result, geomagnetically induced currents are formed just under the planet’s surface.’
Read more: Beyond ‘grid down’ – Solar flares can also disrupt railway signaling systems and underground conduit pipes