The impacts of geomagnetic storms: A comprehensive overview

I don't feel like working lately. My colleagues give me excuses, saying that the geomagnetic storm has affected my body.

Um? Are geomagnetic storms so powerful?

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Let Document Master do some research~

This study is a bit disappointing – it has minimal impact on the body, let alone work.

However, its impact on communication has attracted the attention of Doc.com. Don’t keep good things private, and Doc.com will share them with everyone~

01. What is a geomagnetic storm?

geomagnetic stormis a kind ofViolent disturbances in the Earth's magnetic field. When solar activity breaks out, a coronal mass ejection (CME) occurs, and a single ejection can throw billions of tons of solar material away from the sun's surface at high speed. They not only have kinetic energy formed by the accumulation of huge mass and speed, but also carry the sun's powerful magnetic field energy. Once they hit the earth, they will cause changes in the direction and size of the geomagnetic field. This is called a geomagnetic storm.

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02. The main impact of geomagnetic storms on communications

While bringing beautiful auroras, geomagnetic storms may also have an impact on communications, mainly in the following aspects:

01. Radio communication interruption

The ionospheric disturbance caused by geomagnetic storms can significantly change the propagation path of high-frequency radio waves, causing the signal received at the original receiving point of the radio wave to be greatly attenuated or even not received at all, thus interrupting long-distance communications.

Imagine that we send a signal through a wire, much like sending vibrations through a tight string. However, geomagnetic storms are like someone suddenly dancing on the rope, making signal transmission unstable. In this way, the short waves we usually use to communicate across long distances will be interfered with, and sometimes cannot even be transmitted.

02. Satellite communications are interfered with

Geomagnetic storms may not only interfere with satellite signals, causing communication delays or increased bit error rates, but may also cause damage to the satellites themselves. High-energy particles produced by geomagnetic storms may damage electronic equipment on satellites and affect their normal functions. For some low-orbit spacecraft, geomagnetic disturbances will cause changes in atmospheric density and increase atmospheric resistance, causing the orbital altitude to decrease and affecting the life of the satellite.

We can think of satellites as people riding in glasses during hailstorms. The “hail” emitted by the solar storm not only covers its “glasses” with water drops, making the signals it receives and sends blurry, but also scratches the “glasses” themselves.

03. Navigation system error increases

When a geomagnetic storm occurs, it will not only affect the transmission and reception of GPS satellite signals, but the violent disturbance of the earth's magnetic field will also cause changes in the direction and intensity of the magnetic field, which will reduce the positioning accuracy of the magnetic induction navigation and positioning system, thereby increasing the positioning error of the navigation system. .

We use navigation systems to determine position and direction, just as ships at sea use stars to navigate. When a geomagnetic storm occurs, it is like the originally clear night sky is suddenly obscured by clouds, making it difficult for the captain to see the stars and thus unable to accurately determine the location.

In addition, strong geomagnetic storms can even affect ground power systems and pipelines, indirectly affecting the stability and performance of communications infrastructure.

03. How to avoid or mitigate the impact

Of course, we are not helpless in the face of the impact of geomagnetic storms. We can avoid or reduce the impact of geomagnetic storms on communications through the following strategies:

01.Enhance monitoring and early warning capabilities

Establish and maintain a monitoring network for solar activity and geomagnetic environment, obtain timely data on solar activity and upcoming geomagnetic storms, issue accurate warnings in advance, and remind people to take appropriate preventive measures.

02.Strengthen the anti-interference ability of communication infrastructure

Technical upgrades to critical communications facilities to improve their stability and reliability under extreme space weather conditions.

03.Create a backup of the communication solution

Build redundant paths and backup systems for communication networks, including backup power supplies, backup communication links, and data backup. During a geomagnetic storm, if the main communication path is affected, the backup system can be quickly switched to reduce the impact of communication service interruption.

04.strengthen international cooperation

Since geomagnetic storms are a global phenomenon, their impact on communications is not limited to a single country or region. By strengthening international cooperation and the exchange of information and experience, countries and regions can share early warning information and response strategies to jointly improve their ability to deal with the impact of geomagnetic storms.

Conclusion

After reading Document Master’s sharing, do you have a preliminary understanding of geomagnetic storms?

In fact, with the advancement of technology, the impact of geomagnetic storms on our daily lives has become smaller and smaller. I believe that we will be able to further reduce the impact of geomagnetic storms in the future.

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