Washington DC and Milwaukee Among US Cities Most at Risk from Space Weather

Washington DC and Milwaukee Among US Cities Most at Risk from Space Weather
by Sophie Jenkins
London, UK (SPX) Jul 21, 2024

Several cities in the United States, including the nation's capital, have power grids particularly vulnerable to space weather, according to new research. However, the reasons for this susceptibility remain unclear.

The British Geological Survey (BGS) conducted a study revealing that some US regions are more prone to the impacts of geomagnetic storms. These storms are caused by solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) from the Sun.

Solar flares and CMEs are eruptions of gas and magnetic fields that can travel through space and induce geomagnetic storms. Such storms can harm infrastructure on Earth and in orbit, from satellites to pipelines.

Washington DC and Milwaukee were identified as having power grids especially vulnerable to space weather. Dr. Lauren Orr of the BGS presented these findings at the National Astronomy Meeting at the University of Hull.

"We have identified certain regions of the US (Washington DC area and Milwaukee) which are repeatedly appearing as 'highly connected' in our network, hence are possibly regions particularly vulnerable to the effects of space weather and may benefit from further monitoring," she said.

Dr. Orr added that there were "many reasons" the cities may be more at risk to the impact of geomagnetic storms, including "electrical conductivity of the ground, the physical construction of the power grid in those areas, or the location of the auroral currents in the sky."

However, she emphasized the need for additional research to determine why these areas are 'supernodes' in the network.

Severe space weather has become a significant concern globally, with scientists comparing its likelihood and impact to that of a pandemic or extreme weather events like flooding.

One major risk is geomagnetically induced currents (GICs), which can damage power lines and transformers. Historical incidents of geomagnetic storms have led to widespread blackouts due to transformer failures.

"Network science is now a common tool to quantify the resilience and robustness of power grids to both deliberate attacks and those caused by random failures or natural disasters," Dr. Orr explained.

A network consists of nodes and edges, representing various connections, such as computers on the internet or transformers linked by cables.

"Having previously had great success using network science to uncover patterns within the auroral electrojet we would again combine the fields of network science and space weather to capture the network response to GICs," Dr. Orr said.

"By applying known reliability parameters to the GIC network we can identify areas or transformers at high risk."

This is important, she added, because "these areas could be modified during a geomagnetic storm to prevent transformers burning out and to limit damage to the wider power grid."

The research was conducted in collaboration with Professor Sandra Chapman of the University of Warwick and Dr. Ryan McGranaghan of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California.