Threat of Solar Storms Increased Due to Rocks Under I-95 Corridor

Ya know, it’s always something.  Scientists and grid operators are currently struggling with developing a response plan for solar storms, which could cause widespread power outages.  In fact, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is working on a detailed study to document and quantify the risk.

Why is the USGS focused on this?  It’s because the root cause of blackout-inducing solar storms is 300-million-year-old rock, much of which in buried beneath the I-95 corridor, making the area along the Eastern Seaboard from Maine to Virginia more vulnerable than previously thought.  Yikes!

The Science of Solar Storms

Apparently, certain types of ancient underground rocks, called insulators, repel energy from large geomagnetic storms – basically, the disruptive energy hits the rocks and then bounces back up, causing a secondary energy surge that can take the grid down.  This scenario, if worst case, could cause outages that can take months to restore.

Read this Bloomberg article for more details on this disturbing threat.

The bottom line is that the threat of outages caused by solar storms is real, and FERC, NERC, and other governmental and private sector agencies are working to develop the information necessary to properly deal with this risk.  The USGS is in the process of mapping the entire U.S., a process that will end up taking years to finish.

In the meantime, solar storms are certainly worth incorporating into emergency response plans.