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 by Staff Writers Sao Paulo, Brazil (SPX) May 23, 2018
A group of Brazilian researchers affiliated with the National Space Research Institute (INPE) is working to install a network comprised of magnetometers (instruments used to measure the intensity of a magnetic field) across South America. Known for its acronym Embrace MagNet (Embrace Magnetometer Network for South America), the project involves joint efforts from other Latin American institutions with the aim of studying the specific characteristics of magnetic field disturbances over the continent and comparing their intensities with those occurring elsewhere in the world. The possible damage done by space weather to electronic appliances is also a primary subject. Located in Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil, at the headquarters of the National Space Research Institute (Inpe), Embrace MagNet already has 13 magnetometers up and running. When the network is complete, it will consist of 24 magnetometers installed in 16 Brazilian states and Argentina, Chile and Uruguay. Before Embrace MagNet, South American researchers depended on data from institutions in the US, Europe and Japan to study magnetic field disturbances over South America, as INPE's head of space and atmospheric sciences Clezio Marcos De Nardin puts it. "Magnetic disturbances aren't equivalent in the northern and southern hemispheres. Several publications in the scientific literature show that the aurora borealis and aurora australis aren't symmetrical, either," states the researcher, who is also principal investigator on the Thematic Project created to support Embrace Magnet, with funding from the Sao Paulo Research Foundation - FAPESP. "Based on their data, when we heard that the magnetic field was disturbed, we had no idea if the disturbance had reached Brazil or whether we could assume the disturbance occurred in this sector," he adds.
Interferences on Earth's magnetic field: damage Interactions among energized solar particles and Earth's magnetic field cause disturbances around the globe - whose visual expression comes in the form of auroras in the stratosphere over the North and South Poles. "In the auroral regions, the interactions of magnetic clouds with the magnetic field creates a system of currents at an altitude of 100 km that can damage equipment on the ground," said co-author Paulo Roberto Fagundes. Fagundes is a professor at the Paraiba Valley University (UNIVAP) in Sao Jose dos Campos, Sao Paulo State, and coordinates the FAPESP-funded Thematic Project. The solar phenomena that reach Earth can cause interference in satellite navigation systems, such as the GPS used by motor vehicles, aircraft and ships, whose operation would end up severely degraded. Solar eruptions can also induce electric currents in power line transformers and affect the protection of oil and gas pipelines. In the case of power plants, the consequences can be even worse. When a solar magnetic cloud strikes Earth's magnetic field, auroras appear in the sky and electric currents appear in the ground. In the vicinity of a hydroelectric power plant, the currents can damage transformers and disrupt the grid, causing a blackout. A similar scenario happened in North America at March 13, 1989, three and a half days after a huge solar storm and solar flare were produced. The phenomena induced powerful currents in the ground at various locations in North America, causing a nine-hour outage in the Canadian province of Quebec and a major breakdown in satellite transmission, weather satellites and others. "Recent studies published in the journal Risk Analysis estimate that, if a geomagnetic event like the 1989 solar storm were to occur today, it would cause damage amounting to between U$2.4 trillion and U$3.4 trillion globally," De Nardin said. It doesn't take a huge solar storm to damage the power grid, however. Any solar storm causes ground currents that affect transformers. Besides, hydroelectric power plants built next to large dams and reservoirs are especially vulnerable to the ground currents caused by solar storms. The water in reservoirs boosts current transmission. Worse still, as water flows through turbines in powerhouses, it transmits the current directly to the transformers.
Solar cycle "At times of peak solar activity, transformer degradation worsens. Papers published by the IEEE [Institute of Electric and Electronics Engineers] based on research conducted in South Africa show that transformers can explode if proper maintenance is not done," said De Nardin, who is also Deputy Director of the International Space Environment Service (ISES), a collaborative network of space weather service organizations around the globe.
New magnetic K-index for South America "Our aim is to produce a K-index specifically for South America, hence the 'sa' in the acronym. We already know that what happens in the rest of the world isn't the same as what happens here," De Nardin said. "In addition, we also managed to capture the variation in a solar explosion at the moment radiation from the Sun reached Earth, before the storm," De Nardin said.
New layer of the ionosphere The ionosphere is the portion of Earth's upper atmosphere that is found between approximately 60 km and 500 km above the surface. Solar radiation ionizes the atoms and molecules within this layer, creating a layer of electrons. "We knew about the F1, F2 and F3 layers. Now, we've discovered F4, the outermost layer, above 350 km in altitude. We're investigating the mechanism that creates this structure," Fagundes said.
Improved Hubble yardstick gives fresh evidence for new physics in the universe Baltimore MD (SPX) Feb 26, 2018 Astronomers have used NASA's Hubble Space Telescope to make the most precise measurements of the expansion rate of the universe since it was first calculated nearly a century ago. Intriguingly, the results are forcing astronomers to consider that they may be seeing evidence of something unexpected at work in the universe. That's because the latest Hubble finding confirms a nagging discrepancy showing the universe to be expanding faster now than was expected from its trajectory seen shortly after t ... read more
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