Latest news with #UniversityOfOulu
Forbes
25-05-2025
- Science
- Forbes
Most Extreme Solar Storm Hit Earth 14,350 Years Ago
Illustration of a solar storm impacting the Earth. Scientists have discovered a huge spike in radiocarbon levels 14,300 years ago by analyzing ancient tree-rings. The radiocarbon spike was caused by a massive solar storm, the biggest ever identified. In the study, Postdoctoral Researcher Kseniia Golubenko and Professor Ilya Usoskin at the University of Oulu, Finland utilized their newly developed chemistry–climate model called SOCOL:14C-Ex, specifically designed to reconstruct solar particle storms under ancient glacial climate conditions. The model confirmed that the detected solar event was approximately 18 percent stronger than the notorious AD 775 event — until now the strongest solar storm ever recorded in tree-ring archives. 'Compared to the largest event of the modern satellite era — the 2005 particle storm — the ancient 12,350 BCE event was over 500 times more intense, according to our estimates', says Dr. Golubenko. Other large solar storms have occurred around 7,176 BCE, 5,259 BCE, 663 BCE and 994 AD. A few other candidates are still under investigation. The new chronology used wood samples recovered from the Drouzet River in the Southern French Alps. Here the river is cutting into ancient sediments, exposing fossil tree stumps dating back some 14,300 years. Looking at the individual tree-ring allows researchers to reconstruct environmental and chemical changes for almost every year the tree lived. By stacking sections of different trees together, scientists can reconstruct a tree-ring record spanning many thousands of years. Coronal mass ejections or flares are powerful outbursts of high-energy particles. When such a flare hits Earth, it can cause a solar storm. The particles coming from the sun collide with gases in Earth's atmosphere, forming new isotopes like the radioactive beryllium-10 and carbon-14 (or radiocarbon). Trees absorb these isotope, creating an isotopic record with their tree-rings. 'The ancient event in 12,350 BCE is the only known extreme solar particle event outside of the Holocene epoch, the past 12,000 years of stable warm climate', says Golubenko. This discovery is not only of great importance to better understand the how frequent extreme solar flares are, but also improves the use of radiocarbon to date archeological and biological samples. 'Our new model lifts the existing limitation to the Holocene and extends our ability to analyze radiocarbon data even for glacial climate conditions.' 'Miyake events (distinct spikes in past radiocarbon levels) allow us to pin down exact calendar years in floating archaeological chronologies', explains Usoskin. Radiocarbon signals from such events have already enabled researchers to precisely date Viking settlements in Newfoundland and Neolithic communities in Greece. The largest, directly-observed, solar storm occurred in 1859 and is known as the Carrington Event. Polar lights were observed during daylight as far as the equator. At the time, long before mobile telecommunications and the widespread use of electronic devices, damage was fortunately quite solar storm recorded in the fossil trees was an estimated ten to hundred times more powerful. Today the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Space Weather Prediction Center monitors solar activity and its impact on our infrastructure. Electronics with no electromagnetic shielding are still at a high risk of interference and jamming. A similar massive event happening today could be catastrophic for our technology-based society. The study,"New SOCOL:14C-Ex model reveals that the Late-Glacial radiocarbon spike in 12350 BC was caused by the record-strong extreme solar storm," was published in the journal Earth and Planetary Science Letters. Additional material and interviews provided by the University of Oslo.
Forbes
16-05-2025
- Science
- Forbes
Scientists Warn New ‘Worst-Case Scenario' Sun Event Is 500x Stronger
A massive solar particle storm during the last Ice Age was about 500 times stronger than any modern ... More solar storm, according to new research. Did you see the Northern Lights a year ago? According to NASA, May 10-11, 2025's aurora displays were the most intense since 2003, with some scientists suggesting that they may have been the strongest for 500 years. However, they barely register when compared to what appears to be the strongest solar event ever detected — a massive solar particle storm during the last Ice Age that was about 500 times stronger than any modern solar storm. What happened 14,300 years ago is barely believable. A paper published this week in Earth and Planetary Science Letters details a study of tree rings in the French Alps that reveals evidence of an extreme spike in radiocarbon corresponding to 12,350 B.C. during the final stages of the last Ice Age. It wasn't a solar storm but a solar particle storm, during which a burst of fast-moving, highly energetic protons caused a solar radiation storm around Earth. 'This event establishes a new worst-case scenario,' said Kseniia Golubenko, lead author and postdoctoral researcher at the University of Oulu, Finland. 'Understanding its scale is critical for evaluating the risks posed by future solar storms to modern infrastructure like satellites, power grids, and communication systems.' Using a chemistry-climate model designed to reconstruct ancient solar particle storms — and verified using tree rings — the researchers calculated that the 12,350 B.C. event was about 18% stronger than the strongest solar storm ever recorded in tree-ring archives. That happened in 775 A.D. However, in the modern context, there is no close rival. 'Compared to the largest event of the modern satellite era — the 2005 particle storm — the ancient 12350 BC event was over 500 times more intense, according to our estimates', said Golubenko. 'The ancient event in 12,350 BC is the only known extreme solar particle event outside of the Holocene epoch, the past 12,000 years of stable warm climate. Other massive solar particle storms have occurred around 994 AD, 663 BC, 5259 BC and 7176 BC. The solar particle event of 14,300 years ago is in a different class than the famous Carrington event in September 1859, when astronomer Richard C. Carrington observed the most powerful solar flare ever recorded. It sparked auroras down to the tropics. However, the Carrington event was not accompanied by a solar particle storm. Such standout solar events are known as Miyake events, after the Japanese researcher who named them. 'Miyake events allow us to pin down exact calendar years in floating archaeological chronologies,' said Ilya Usoskin, a co-author of the paper and a professor at the University of Oulu. The radiocarbon signals from Miyake events have helped historians to precisely date Viking settlements in Newfoundland and Neolithic communities in Greece. Wishing you clear skies and wide eyes.
