An international team of scientists has discovered that a huge spike in radiocarbon levels occurred 14,300 years ago by analyzing ancient tree trunks found in the French Alps.
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This increase was caused by a massive solar storm, the largest yet identified. A similar solar storm today would be devastating to modern technological society – possibly wiping out telecommunications and satellite systems, causing massive power outages across the grid, and costing billions in damage.
Academics warn of the importance of understanding such storms to protect our global communications and energy infrastructure for the future.
The collaborative research, carried out by an international team of scientists, was published in “Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical Physical and Engineering Sciences” and reveals new insights into the sun's extreme behavior and the dangers facing Earth.
A team of researchers measured radiocarbon levels in ancient trees preserved on the exposed banks of the Drouzet River, near Gap, in the southern French Alps.
The tree trunks, which are remains whose fossilization process has not been completed, were cut into individual tree rings. Analysis of these individual rings revealed an unprecedented increase in radiocarbon dating levels that occurred exactly 14,300 years ago. Comparing this increase in radiocarbon dating with measurements of beryllium, a chemical element found in Greenland ice cores, the team suggests that the increase was caused by a massive solar storm that had blasted a huge volume of energetic particles into Earth's atmosphere
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The researchers say that the occurrence of similar solar storms today could be catastrophic for modern technological society, as it could wipe out telecommunications, satellite systems and electrical grids, costing us billions. They warn that it is critical to understand the future risks of such events so that we can prepare, strengthen our communication and energy and protect them from potential damage.
Nine of these extreme solar storms, known as Miyake Events, have occurred in the past 15,000 years. The most recent confirmed Miyake Events occurred in 993 AD and 774 AD. This newly discovered storm, which is 14,300 years old, is however the largest ever found – about twice the size of the other two.
The largest directly observed solar storm occurred in 1859 and is known as the Carrington Event. It caused massive disruption on Earth, knocking out telegraph machines and creating a nighttime light so bright that birds began chirping, thinking the sun had begun to rise. However, Miyake Events (including the recently discovered one that is 14,300 years old) were an astonishing order of magnitude larger.
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Source: phys.org
