2016 AAAS Annual Meeting (February 11-15, 2016)

February 10 - 15, 2016

Space Weather: A Low Frequency, High Impact Space Age Hazard

Policymakers at national and international levels increasingly recognize the threats of space weather – i.e., severe storms in the near-Earth space environment driven by complex magnetic field events from the sun – as among the most challenging to developed technological societies. Alterations in the ionized portion of the upper atmosphere, driven by the interaction of the Earth’s magnetic field with the complicated plasma and magnetic field structures emitted by the sun, can lead to significant disruptions (e.g., availability and accuracy of the global positioning system). This interaction can also impact high-frequency radio communications, forcing airlines to divert aircraft from trans-polar routings to longer, lower-latitude routes at significant cost. The severe storms can also drive strong currents in the electric power grid, potentially leading to blackouts, as well as in long-distance pipelines, worsening corrosion. Understanding of the basic science behind these effects is reasonably good in some areas, but work remains to create a robust, reliable, and effective set of forecast tools.