An enormous “Miyake event”—a bombardment of Earth by particles from the sun—hit 14,300 years ago. Such an event today would have devastating effects
Some 14,300 years ago, a pine forest in France bore witness to an event that has never been experienced in modern times: a bombardment of solar particles that was so fierce that it would likely knock out communications satellites and fry power grids across the globe if it were to happen today. “It would be a catastrophe,” says Edouard Bard, a climatologist at the Collège de France in Paris, who led a new study that discovered the ancient event.
The newfound Miyake event is the largest of the 10 that are known so far; it’s about twice the size of the most recent C.E. 774 blast and an order of magnitude more powerful than the so-called Carrington Event of 1859. Though not a Miyake event, the Carrington Event was the most powerful solar storm that humans have experienced since the industrial revolution.
In the new study, published on October 9 in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A, a buried forest enabled the analysis. At the end of the Last Glacial Maximum, when ice sheets that covered 25 percent of Earth’s land area began to melt, rushing rivers dumped sediment over a forest of Scotch pines . The submerged oxygen-free environment preserved the tree trunks, which still stand upright and rooted today.
Miyake, who was not directly involved in the research, calls the discovery “very exciting” but also notes that it wasn’t surprising. Scientists have been looking for ancient SEP events for only about a decade, and the work is painstaking. There are likely many more hiding in the tree ring record, Miyake says.
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Solar Team Eindhoven’s Solar Car Reaches the Sahara After a Thousand Kilometers Through MoroccoThe world's first off-road solar car, Stella Terra, operates more efficiently than initially calculated with a range of approximately 550 kilometers, depending on the terrain.
Read more »
Maxine’s Baby: The Tyler Perry Story Trailer Traces Media Titan's RiseDirected by Gelila Bekele and Armani Ortiz, the film releases on Prime Video Nov. 17.
Read more »
Study finds metal traces in Earth’s stratosphere post rocket launchesInteresting Engineering is a cutting edge, leading community designed for all lovers of engineering, technology and science.
Read more »
NJ’s largest news outlet to host event at Rutgers to inspire next generation of journalistsThe event will start Friday at 8 a.m. at Rutger-New Brunswick's School of Communications campus.
Read more »
Dusty Baker and Bruce Bochy are shining as MLB's oldest managersDusty Baker and Bruce Bochy are the two oldest managers in the majors and are facing off in the AL Championship Series.
Read more »
The free Original Farmers Market Fall Festival is one of our city's oldest autumn eventsThis weekend-long lark, which boasts homespun tunes and nostalgic activities, had its start nearly nine decades ago.
Read more »