Get ready for a 'global Katrina':Biggest ever

[:PsYKoTiC:BeHAvIoR:]

I'll believe it when it happens.

Same here. 11 - 12 years ago, we had satellites, we had cells, we had telecommunications. Nothing like this happened. Plus, we had the Y2K scare and that was also a big DUD. These are just stories, just like Swine flu, to cause a mild panic in people in order to have the average joe to spend money.

My mom stocked up on almost 500$ of Heinz Tomato soup prior to Y2K. I am all for being prepared, but that was absurd. LOL!

Edited February 24, 2011 by :PsYKoTiC:BeHAvIoR:

[King Fluffs]

HELL YEAH!

This will give me practice for the zombie apocalypse.

[Jewels1958]

Storm in a Teacup, more like.

Everyone remember the chaos on 4th November, 2003 ? Remember all the disruption to telephones, the aircraft falling out of the sky, the volcano's and earthquakes ? The loss of agriculture and the subsequent famine ? The floods ? The Mutated Zombie Man-Eating Elephants with Lasers in their Foreheads ?

No, neither do I. Perhaps that's because non of those things happened, despite it being the largest and most intense solar storm since records began.

sheesh.

meow purr

As far as I know the Carrington Event was the "largest event" since records began. And this did knock out power, burnt up equipment, etc. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_storm_of_1859

[logicboy]

well guys..imagine that the human race was unaware of existence of MAYAN CALENDER ...would all of us would be still that worried...i think its a mere exaggeration of an incomplete work of mayan civilisation

[Paracelse]

Oh Lord, another thing for me to worry about.

Aren't we s'pose to worry about things we can change and just try to live through things we can't?

[cookies]

Just when will all these stop

[Mistydawn]

Somebody somewhere is trying to make us have a conscious. Lets all get aware and care. Or not.

[Drayno]

You can take it from me: I lost all power for weeks due to Hurricanes Ivan, Katrina and Dennis.

When there is no water, no power - only candles and packaged foods - it is peaceful.

In the silence we are vigilant and productive.

If there was to be a 'Global Katrina' life will go on as it did for the month I was out of school as a younger lad.

Humans were meant to adapt. I know I can survive without power, I am sure all of you can as well.

[tlsmith1138]

If you don't think like I do, you don't have a conscious? I love it when little know-it-alls talk.

[Mistydawn]

Aren't we s'pose to worry about things we can change and just try to live through things we can't?

That sounds like logical thinking to me.....

[White Crane Feather]

Storm in a Teacup, more like.

Everyone remember the chaos on 4th November, 2003 ? Remember all the disruption to telephones, the aircraft falling out of the sky, the volcano's and earthquakes ? The loss of agriculture and the subsequent famine ? The floods ? The Mutated Zombie Man-Eating Elephants with Lasers in their Foreheads ?

No, neither do I. Perhaps that's because non of those things happened, despite it being the largest and most intense solar storm since records began.

sheesh.

meow purr

Largest solar event on record is the carrington event if 1859. If it were to happen like that or stronger that turned into massive EMP event. Literally every electonic circuit on the planet could be fried. No other damage, but that would be enough to topple tech societies. Every thing the relys on a micro chip would be useless. That's almost everything these days. How do you think food is refrigerated and transported to the grocery store. Can you imagine a city of a million people with no way to get food. In 2 weeks to a month it would tear itself to cinders. Smaller commnities with local farms, space and no how could survive if they can fight off the refugees from the cities. Every idiot with a gun would shoot every cat, dog, horse, or bird from the sky for protein. People that go out to rebild the infrastructure would be under constant assault. It would be a slow, painful, and deadly recovery. Let's hope it dosnt happen.

[ships-cat]

Largest solar event on record is the carrington event if 1859. If it were to happen like that or stronger that turned into massive EMP event. Literally every electonic circuit on the planet could be fried. No other damage, but that would be enough to topple tech societies. Every thing the relys on a micro chip would be useless. That's almost everything these days. How do you think food is refrigerated and transported to the grocery store. Can you imagine a city of a million people with no way to get food. In 2 weeks to a month it would tear itself to cinders. Smaller commnities with local farms, space and no how could survive if they can fight off the refugees from the cities. Every idiot with a gun would shoot every cat, dog, horse, or bird from the sky for protein. People that go out to rebild the infrastructure would be under constant assault. It would be a slow, painful, and deadly recovery. Let's hope it dosnt happen.

Well, that is certainly an alarming scenario Seeker' ... however, I believe you are mistaken.

The gamma-ray storm from the sun will NOT create a large-scale coherent Electromagnetic Pulse. It is possible you are thinking of atom bombs there ?

Can I remind everyone.. AGAIN... that the most powerful solar storm ever properly measured hit us in November of 2003. Granted, is is deemed less powerful than the 1859 Carrington event, but it will still give us an example of what to expect.

So.. November 2003.. tell me your personal stories of power cuts, of destroyed computers, of aircraft falling out of the skies....

What do you mean "you can't remember" ?

MY point precisely.

meow purr

[Stuffudontunderstand]

The storm may not do anything we can see......but it might effect the magnetic core of the earth....maybe then we will do our 75million year flip....ahhhh two summers in a row...

[tlsmith1138]

Every chip on Earth could be fried? That would never happen. Uncle Sam has taken steps to prevent damage to many systems, just to protect us from EMP attacks already. Then you would have to wander just how many "Faraday Cages" are accidentally around other things. An M-1 Abrahms will still be able to carry out it's duties for you.

[Arkitecht]

[Astronaut]

And guess what? The solar flares missed earth.

[Mr.United_Nations]

And guess what? The solar flares missed earth.

Nope, Solar flares, even small ones hit Earth.

[Ryinrea]

Face Palms, people really need to learn about Astronomy. Solar Flares aren't going to cause a big catastrophic world wide Electromagnetic Plus. It might hit a few places but it will not I repeat not send us in to the stone age, since the government has been hunkering down for something like this happening due to something like a terrorist setting off a EMP in the middle of a Washington DC. Most power plants world wide know have some type of EMP protection and most newer cars have this type of protection. However, I'll be save since my dad knows how to make my car engine start because he prepared for almost anything. Plus, he thinks that the poles might sift and he knows how bad that will effect are relevance on electrical things.

Also a global Katrina is simply bull **** and I don't beleive anything that the daily FAIL has to say about Astronomy. I'd love to see a real Solar Flare happen during the storm next year they tend to do some awesome stuff.

[UFO_Monster]

Hey guyz teh world's gunna' end soon! We cant do anythin abot it so let's cause some panic instead!

[White Crane Feather]

Well, that is certainly an alarming scenario Seeker' ... however, I believe you are mistaken.

The gamma-ray storm from the sun will NOT create a large-scale coherent Electromagnetic Pulse. It is possible you are thinking of atom bombs there ?

Can I remind everyone.. AGAIN... that the most powerful solar storm ever properly measured hit us in November of 2003. Granted, is is deemed less powerful than the 1859 Carrington event, but it will still give us an example of what to expect.

So.. November 2003.. tell me your personal stories of power cuts, of destroyed computers, of aircraft falling out of the skies....

What do you mean "you can't remember" ?

MY point precisely.

meow purr

Measured with modern equipment maby, but recorded nope. It was the super storm of 1859. Which can be measured in ice from that time. Also not all solar flares release large CMEs directed at the earth. As it did in 1859. Much more

powerful than 2003. I'm always interested how willing people are to bury there heads in the sand at our vulnarabilities just because they don't want to participate in our doomsday culture. Some things are a real possibiliy. A large CME at the earth is a certainty measured in hundreds of years not thousands.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coronal_mass_ejection

[White Crane Feather]

Just some sources

some of you should check yours.... It's not that hard to find

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_storm_of_1859?wasRedirected=true

http://www.empactamerica.org/solar_emp.php

Edited March 2, 2011 by Seeker79

[White Crane Feather]

http://www.nasa.gov//centers/langley/news/releases/2010/10-012.html

 

"NASA Talk: Could Electronic Systems Collapse Worldwide

 

 

HAMPTON, Va. -- Could a major electromagnetic pulse or EMP be a global perfect storm for our electrical distribution system, communications, and the new technology society?

On Wednesday, Feb. 10, at NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, William Forstchen, author of the New York Times best seller "One Second After" will discuss the thesis of his book in his lecture "EMP, and the Potential for a Nationwide or Global 'Katrina,' of our Electronic Infrastructure."

Forstchen's talk was originally scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 2.

Media who wish to interview Forstchen at a news briefing at NASA Langley at 1:15 p.m., Wednesday should contact Chris Rink atoon on the day of the talk for credentials and entry to the center.

On Tuesday evening, Feb. 9, Forstchen will present a similar talk for the general public at 7:30 p.m. at the Virginia Air & Space Center in downtown Hampton. The evening presentation is free and no reservations are required.

Forstchen will examine how an EMP event could result in a civilian casualty rate of upwards of 90 percent within a year due to the breakdown of water, sanitation, medical, and food distribution systems, along with the breakdown of social order, law enforcement, and command and control. An analysis will be included of what exactly is an EMP event, and how it can be created either by military means (nuclear weapon detonations in space) or a major solar flare such as the "Carrington Event" of 1859."

Edited March 2, 2011 by Seeker79

[White Crane Feather]

http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2009/21jan_severespaceweather/

"January 21, 2009: Did you know a solar flare can make your toilet stop working?

That's the surprising conclusion of a NASA-funded study by the National Academy of Sciences entitled Severe Space Weather Events—Understanding Societal and Economic Impacts. In the 132-page report, experts detailed what might happen to our modern, high-tech society in the event of a "super solar flare" followed by an extreme geomagnetic storm. They found that almost nothing is immune from space weather—not even the water in your bathroom.

Right: Auroras over Blair, Nebraska, during a geomagnetic storm in May 2005. Photo credit: Mike Hollingshead/Spaceweather.com.

The problem begins with the electric power grid. "Electric power is modern society's cornerstone technology on which virtually all other infrastructures and services depend," the report notes. Yet it is particularly vulnerable to bad space weather. Ground currents induced during geomagnetic storms can actually melt the copper windings of transformers at the heart of many power distribution systems. Sprawling power lines act like antennas, picking up the currents and spreading the problem over a wide area. The most famous geomagnetic power outage happened during a space storm in March 1989 when six million people in Quebec lost power for 9 hours: image.

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According to the report, power grids may be more vulnerable than ever. The problem is interconnectedness. In recent years, utilities have joined grids together to allow long-distance transmission of low-cost power to areas of sudden demand. On a hot summer day in California, for instance, people in Los Angeles might be running their air conditioners on power routed from Oregon. It makes economic sense—but not necessarily geomagnetic sense. Interconnectedness makes the system susceptible to wide-ranging "cascade failures."

To estimate the scale of such a failure, report co-author John Kappenmann of the Metatech Corporation looked at the great geomagnetic storm of May 1921, which produced ground currents as much as ten times stronger than the 1989 Quebec storm, and modeled its effect on the modern power grid. He found more than 350 transformers at risk of permanent damage and 130 million people without power. The loss of electricity would ripple across the social infrastructure with "water distribution affected within several hours; perishable foods and medications lost in 12-24 hours; loss of heating/air conditioning, sewage disposal, phone service, fuel re-supply and so on."

"The concept of interdependency," the report notes, "is evident in the unavailability of water due to long-term outage of electric power--and the inability to restart an electric generator without water on site."

Above: What if the May 1921 superstorm occurred today? A US map of vulnerable transformers with areas of probable system collapse encircled. A state-by-state map of transformer vulnerability is also available: click here. Credit: National Academy of Sciences.

The strongest geomagnetic storm on record is the Carrington Event of August-September 1859, named after British astronomer Richard Carrington who witnessed the instigating solar flare with his unaided eye while he was projecting an image of the sun on a white screen. Geomagnetic activity triggered by the explosion electrified telegraph lines, shocking technicians and setting their telegraph papers on fire; Northern Lights spread as far south as Cuba and Hawaii; auroras over the Rocky Mountains were so bright, the glow woke campers who began preparing breakfast because they thought it was morning. Best estimates rank the Carrington Event as 50% or more stronger than the superstorm of May 1921.

"A contemporary repetition of the Carrington Event would cause … extensive social and economic disruptions," the report warns. Power outages would be accompanied by radio blackouts and satellite malfunctions; telecommunications, GPS navigation, banking and finance, and transportation would all be affected. Some problems would correct themselves with the fading of the storm: radio and GPS transmissions could come back online fairly quickly. Other problems would be lasting: a burnt-out multi-ton transformer, for instance, can take weeks or months to repair. The total economic impact in the first year alone could reach $2 trillion, some 20 times greater than the costs of a Hurricane Katrina or, to use a timelier example, a few TARPs.

Above: A web of interdependencies makes the modern economy especially sensitive to solar storms. Source: Dept. of Homeland Security. [Larger image]

What's the solution? The report ends with a call for infrastructure designed to better withstand geomagnetic disturbances, improved GPS codes and frequencies, and improvements in space weather forecasting. Reliable forecasting is key. If utility and satellite operators know a storm is coming, they can take measures to reduce damage—e.g., disconnecting wires, shielding vulnerable electronics, powering down critical hardware. A few hours without power is better than a few weeks.

NASA has deployed a fleet of spacecraft to study the sun and its eruptions. The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO), the twin STEREO probes, ACE, Wind and others are on duty 24/7. NASA physicists use data from these missions to understand the underlying physics of flares and geomagnetic storms; personnel at NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center use the findings, in turn, to hone their forecasts.

At the moment, no one knows when the next super solar storm will erupt. It could be 100 years away or just 100 days. It's something to think about the next time you flush."

Edited March 2, 2011 by Seeker79