How ancient trees are warning us about the next enormous solar storm
Our sun is capable of storms far bigger than we've ever recorded. Studying the world's oldest trees suggests we could soon be due one of these gargantuan events.
This article investigates the potential threats posed by ancient trees to modern society in the face of enormous solar storms. Researchers have discovered that Japanese cedar trees, which have been growing on Yakushima Island for centuries, offer a unique window into the sun's past activity. In 2012, Fusa Miyake noticed a sudden spike in carbon-14 levels in tree rings, indicating a solar storm in AD 774-775.
This unexpected finding prompted researchers to search for similar events throughout history, leading them to identify five more "Miyake events" occurring roughly every 2,000 years. While these events are infrequent, they could still be catastrophic for Earth, potentially surpassing even the powerful Carrington storm of 1859. To better understand these rare solar phenomena, researchers analyzed carbon-14 records from tree rings spanning the first millennium AD.
Their analysis revealed four potential intermediate events, placing such occurrences at a frequency of about one every 200 years. The nature of the threat posed by these intermediate events depends on the cause, whether it be a coronal mass ejection or intense solar flares. In either case, the impacts would be uneven, depending on the geographical distribution and infrastructure of power grids, pipelines, and telecommunications networks.
A solar storm of this magnitude could potentially disrupt critical manufacturing capabilities, particularly in the Northern Hemisphere, leading to widespread disruption and potential collapse of modern society.
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