New
USGS Report Assesses Risk of Once-Per-Century Geomagnetic Superstorm to the
Northeastern United States
U.S.
Geological Survey
A new report and map
published by the U.S. Geological Survey provides critical insight to electric
power grid operators across the northeastern United States in the event of a
once-per-century magnetic superstorm.
Major metropolitan
areas along the I-95 corridor – including Boston, New York, Philadelphia,
Baltimore, and Washington, DC – will benefit from the report’s geoelectrical
hazard assessment, published in the journal Space Weather.
“These new maps will
allow states and utilities to better anticipate the threat and response to
future magnetic storms across the northeast,” said Jim Reilly, director of the
USGS.
“They will prove useful for planning for future power-grid installations and will help utility companies develop strategies to mitigate blackouts and power system damage.”
“They will prove useful for planning for future power-grid installations and will help utility companies develop strategies to mitigate blackouts and power system damage.”
Geomagnetic storms occasionally occur in the space environment surrounding the Earth due to the dynamic influence of the sun and the solar wind on the Earth’s geomagnetic field.
On the Earth’s surface, magnetic storms can produce blackouts – for example, a storm in March 1989 caused a blackout of Quebec, Canada, and the northeastern United States.
Even more concerning are the rare magnetic superstorms comparable to the “Carrington” storm of 1859, which today could cause blackouts on a continental scale and damage infrastructure that would not only be costly and time consuming to repair, but could potentially pose a threat to human safety.
The new USGS research
shows that geological structure impacts the strength and direction of
storm-generated geoelectric fields. In particular, USGS models show high
geoelectric risk potential across the igneous and metamorphic rock of the
Appalachian Mountains.
In contrast, the sedimentary rock of Appalachian Plateau and Mid-Atlantic Coastal Plain exhibits lower potential across the electrically-resistive igneous and metamorphic rock of the Appalachian Mountains.
In contrast, the sedimentary rock of Appalachian Plateau and Mid-Atlantic Coastal Plain exhibits lower potential across the electrically-resistive igneous and metamorphic rock of the Appalachian Mountains.
Next Steps
This work highlights
the need for completing a national-scale magnetotelluric survey
and for additional geomagnetic monitoring stations to complete and improve
assessments of geoelectric hazards for the continental United States.
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