Space weather impacts on ground systems
Lead Research Organisation:
STFC - Laboratories
Department Name: RAL Space
Abstract
Space weather describes the changing properties of near-Earth space, which influences the flow of electrical currents in this region, particularly within the ionosphere and magnetosphere. Space weather results from solar magnetic activity, which waxes and wanes over the Sunspot cycle of 11 years, due to eruptions of electrically charged material from the Sun's outer atmosphere. Particularly severe space weather can affect ground-based, electrically conducting infrastructures such as power transmission systems (National Grid), pipelines and railways. Ground based networks are at risk because rapidly changing electrical currents in space, driven by space weather, cause rapid geomagnetic field changes on the ground. These magnetic changes give rise to electric fields in the Earth that act as a 'battery' across conducting infrastructures. This 'battery' causes geomagnetically induced currents (GIC) to flow to or from the Earth, through conducting networks, instead of in the more resistive ground. These GIC upset the safe operation of transformers, risking damage and blackouts. GIC also cause enhanced corrosion in long metal pipeline networks and interfere with railway signalling systems.
Severe space weather in March 1989 damaged power transformers in the UK and caused a long blackout across Quebec, Canada. The most extreme space weather event known - the 'Carrington Event' of 1859 - caused widespread failures and instabilities in telegraph networks, fires in telegraph offices and auroral displays to low latitudes. The likelihood of another such extreme event is estimated to be around 10% per decade. Severe space weather is therefore recognised in the UK government's National Risk Register as a one-in-two to one-in-twenty year event, for which industry and government needs to plan to mitigate the risk. Some studies have estimated the economic consequence of space weather and GIC to run to billions of dollars per day in the major advanced economies, through the prolonged loss of electrical power.
There are mathematical models of how GIC are caused by space weather and where in the UK National Grid they may appear (there are no models of GIC flow in UK pipelines or railway networks). However these models are quite limited in what they can do and may therefore not provide a true picture of GIC risk in grounded systems, for example highlighting some locations as being at risk, when in fact any problems lie elsewhere. The electrical model that has been developed to represent GIC at transformer substations in the National Grid misses key features, such as a model of the 132kV transmission system of England and Wales, or any model for Northern Ireland. The conductivity of the subsurface of the UK is known only partly and in some areas not at all well. (We need to know the conductivity in order to compute the electric field that acts as the 'battery' for GIC.) The UK GIC models only 'now-cast', at best, and they have no forecast capability, even though this is a stated need of industry and government. We do not have tried and tested now-cast models, or even forecast models, of magnetic variations on the ground. This is because of our under-developed understanding of how currents flow in the ionosphere and magnetosphere, how these interconnect and how they relate to conditions in the solar wind.
In this project we will therefore upgrade existing or create new models that relate GIC in power, pipe and railway networks to ionospheric, magnetospheric and solar wind conditions. These models will address the issues we have identified with the current generation of models and their capabilities and provide accurate data for industry and governments to assess our risk from space weather. In making progress on these issues we will also radically improve on our physical understanding of the way electrical currents and electromagnetic fields interact near and in the Earth and how they affect the important technologies we rely on.
Severe space weather in March 1989 damaged power transformers in the UK and caused a long blackout across Quebec, Canada. The most extreme space weather event known - the 'Carrington Event' of 1859 - caused widespread failures and instabilities in telegraph networks, fires in telegraph offices and auroral displays to low latitudes. The likelihood of another such extreme event is estimated to be around 10% per decade. Severe space weather is therefore recognised in the UK government's National Risk Register as a one-in-two to one-in-twenty year event, for which industry and government needs to plan to mitigate the risk. Some studies have estimated the economic consequence of space weather and GIC to run to billions of dollars per day in the major advanced economies, through the prolonged loss of electrical power.
There are mathematical models of how GIC are caused by space weather and where in the UK National Grid they may appear (there are no models of GIC flow in UK pipelines or railway networks). However these models are quite limited in what they can do and may therefore not provide a true picture of GIC risk in grounded systems, for example highlighting some locations as being at risk, when in fact any problems lie elsewhere. The electrical model that has been developed to represent GIC at transformer substations in the National Grid misses key features, such as a model of the 132kV transmission system of England and Wales, or any model for Northern Ireland. The conductivity of the subsurface of the UK is known only partly and in some areas not at all well. (We need to know the conductivity in order to compute the electric field that acts as the 'battery' for GIC.) The UK GIC models only 'now-cast', at best, and they have no forecast capability, even though this is a stated need of industry and government. We do not have tried and tested now-cast models, or even forecast models, of magnetic variations on the ground. This is because of our under-developed understanding of how currents flow in the ionosphere and magnetosphere, how these interconnect and how they relate to conditions in the solar wind.
In this project we will therefore upgrade existing or create new models that relate GIC in power, pipe and railway networks to ionospheric, magnetospheric and solar wind conditions. These models will address the issues we have identified with the current generation of models and their capabilities and provide accurate data for industry and governments to assess our risk from space weather. In making progress on these issues we will also radically improve on our physical understanding of the way electrical currents and electromagnetic fields interact near and in the Earth and how they affect the important technologies we rely on.
Planned Impact
There are three main interest groups where the proposed research will have impact.
Industry - Geohazard Impact & Assessment
Geomagnetically Induced Currents (GIC) impact the National Grid, pipelines and railways. We will therefore have representation on our stakeholder advisory group from organisations such as National Grid plc (power and pipelines), Scottish Power (power) and Atkins (railways), as well as UK Space Agency (international space weather initiatives and measurements), MunichRe (natural hazard insurance) and the Met Office Space Weather Operations Centre (MOSWOC). By interacting with this stakeholder group the investigators' scientific research into coupled ground-ionospheric-magnetospheric processes will be better tailored to their (and other) end-user needs, for example in terms of forecasts, surface electric fields or GIC model accuracy. For the National Grid our developments will add functionality and improved accuracy in GIC models already in service with them, as part of the real-time 'Monitoring and Analysis of GIC' (MAGIC) project that BGS is contracted to provide. National Grid uses MAGIC to determine where GIC is impacting their network during storms and to help inform their decision-making about the system state and operation. Our world-leading GIC and physical models of near-Earth processes will be adapted and used in other countries, and add to the international influence of the investigators. Understanding of space weather impact on pipelines and railways is a particularly under-developed area with very little in the published literature. We therefore foresee that our research will be world-leading here, likely acting as a stimulus to similar activities in other countries. We plan UK 'firsts' in terms of models of GIC flow in UK pipelines (with National Grid) and railways (with Atkins). Both National Grid and Atkins are keen to investigate the UK exposure to space weather.
Government - Geohazard Impact & Assessment
Space weather is recognised on the UK National Risk Register. Cabinet Office, BEIS, Go Science and other government departments have worked with some of the investigators, industry and industry regulators in the area of impacts on ground-based systems. Cabinet Office established the 'Space Environment Impact Expert Group' (SEIEG) to advise the government Chief Scientist through SAGE during space weather emergencies. Several SAGE 'table top' rehearsals have already been held, involving investigators from this proposal. The UK government, regional governments and assemblies, local authorities and emergency responders will therefore benefit from the quantified accuracy we will deliver from our new and improved GIC-related models. We will use our research outputs to inform discussion papers within the SEIEG group intended for government decision makers. We will also hold two 'information briefing events' to target scientifically aware lay-people from government and other agencies. This should aid information flow and decision making during severe space weather events and emergency planning in general and this will be integrated with MOSWOC daily operations.
Public - Engagement, Public Awareness, Natural Hazard Preparedness, Aurora Observation
Space weather is a topic that has had high prominence in the media over the last few years, prompting public interest in the aurora (what is it, where is it, and when to see it?). The investigators already have a strong track record in outreach activities, including the highly successful AuroraWatch website (Lancaster), public demonstrations (e.g. BGS 'Open Days'), talks and regular media activity in response to alerts of major space weather. We plan to tap into this interest and communicate what we are doing and why it matters by further investigator activities in these areas, including through a Royal Society Summer Science exhibit, where we will showcase our research and demonstrate our significantly improved GIC-related models.
Industry - Geohazard Impact & Assessment
Geomagnetically Induced Currents (GIC) impact the National Grid, pipelines and railways. We will therefore have representation on our stakeholder advisory group from organisations such as National Grid plc (power and pipelines), Scottish Power (power) and Atkins (railways), as well as UK Space Agency (international space weather initiatives and measurements), MunichRe (natural hazard insurance) and the Met Office Space Weather Operations Centre (MOSWOC). By interacting with this stakeholder group the investigators' scientific research into coupled ground-ionospheric-magnetospheric processes will be better tailored to their (and other) end-user needs, for example in terms of forecasts, surface electric fields or GIC model accuracy. For the National Grid our developments will add functionality and improved accuracy in GIC models already in service with them, as part of the real-time 'Monitoring and Analysis of GIC' (MAGIC) project that BGS is contracted to provide. National Grid uses MAGIC to determine where GIC is impacting their network during storms and to help inform their decision-making about the system state and operation. Our world-leading GIC and physical models of near-Earth processes will be adapted and used in other countries, and add to the international influence of the investigators. Understanding of space weather impact on pipelines and railways is a particularly under-developed area with very little in the published literature. We therefore foresee that our research will be world-leading here, likely acting as a stimulus to similar activities in other countries. We plan UK 'firsts' in terms of models of GIC flow in UK pipelines (with National Grid) and railways (with Atkins). Both National Grid and Atkins are keen to investigate the UK exposure to space weather.
Government - Geohazard Impact & Assessment
Space weather is recognised on the UK National Risk Register. Cabinet Office, BEIS, Go Science and other government departments have worked with some of the investigators, industry and industry regulators in the area of impacts on ground-based systems. Cabinet Office established the 'Space Environment Impact Expert Group' (SEIEG) to advise the government Chief Scientist through SAGE during space weather emergencies. Several SAGE 'table top' rehearsals have already been held, involving investigators from this proposal. The UK government, regional governments and assemblies, local authorities and emergency responders will therefore benefit from the quantified accuracy we will deliver from our new and improved GIC-related models. We will use our research outputs to inform discussion papers within the SEIEG group intended for government decision makers. We will also hold two 'information briefing events' to target scientifically aware lay-people from government and other agencies. This should aid information flow and decision making during severe space weather events and emergency planning in general and this will be integrated with MOSWOC daily operations.
Public - Engagement, Public Awareness, Natural Hazard Preparedness, Aurora Observation
Space weather is a topic that has had high prominence in the media over the last few years, prompting public interest in the aurora (what is it, where is it, and when to see it?). The investigators already have a strong track record in outreach activities, including the highly successful AuroraWatch website (Lancaster), public demonstrations (e.g. BGS 'Open Days'), talks and regular media activity in response to alerts of major space weather. We plan to tap into this interest and communicate what we are doing and why it matters by further investigator activities in these areas, including through a Royal Society Summer Science exhibit, where we will showcase our research and demonstrate our significantly improved GIC-related models.
Publications

Chen Z
(2018)
Reconstructing the flux-rope topology using the FOTE method
in Science China Technological Sciences

Cheng Z
(2018)
Influence of the IMF Cone Angle on Invariant Latitudes of Polar Region Footprints of FACs in the Magnetotail: Cluster Observation
in Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics

Dandouras I
(2018)
Electric Currents in Geospace and Beyond

Dong X
(2018)
Carriers and Sources of Magnetopause Current: MMS Case Study
in Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics

Dunlop M
(2018)
Electric Currents in Geospace and Beyond

Gao J
(2018)
The Distribution of Two Flapping Types of Magnetotail Current Sheet: Implication for the Flapping Mechanism
in Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics

Hapgood M
(2018)
Extreme Events in Geospace

Hapgood M
(2018)
Extreme Events in Geospace

Huang H
(2018)
Kinetic Alfvén Waves Excited in Two-Dimensional Magnetic Reconnection
in Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics

Ma Y
(2017)
Energy budget during an isolated substorm using measurements of multi satellites and geomagnetic indices
in Astrophysics and Space Science

Samsonov A
(2019)
LongTerm Variations in Solar Wind Parameters, Magnetopause Location, and Geomagnetic Activity Over the Last Five Solar Cycles
in Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics

Shi J
(2017)
Distribution of Field-Aligned Electron Events in the High-Altitude Polar Region: Cluster Observations FAE Observed by Cluster in Polar Region
in Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics

Wang T
(2019)
Magnetospheric Multiscale Observation of Kinetic Signatures in the Alfvén Vortex
in The Astrophysical Journal

Xu Y
(2018)
Electron Acceleration by Dipolarization Fronts and Magnetic Reconnection: A Quantitative Comparison
in The Astrophysical Journal

Yang J
(2018)
Statistical Correlation Analysis of Field-Aligned Currents Measured by Swarm
in Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics

Yang Y
(2017)
The evolution of geomagnetotail magnetic flux in isolated substorms
in Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics

Zhang Q
(2018)
Observations of the step-like accelerating processes of cold ions in the reconnection layer at the dayside magnetopause
in Science Bulletin
Description | On-going investigation of tools associated with the behaviour of external currents and their ground impact. Outcome as Springer book (activities of a working group sponsored by the International Space Science institute in Berne): in press |
Exploitation Route | Use of published book on methods |
Sectors | Aerospace, Defence and Marine,Other |
URL | http://www.issibern.ch/publications/pdf/ar/ar21.pdf |
Description | ESA's Swarm project management set up a workshop as part of its Swarm DISC (Data, Innovation and Science Cluster) activity to assess the various field-aligned current estimating methods: Methodology Inter-Comparison Exercise (MICE): meeting held in September 2017 Possible outcome : tool book for ionospheric methods applicable to the Swarm mission. |
First Year Of Impact | 2017 |
Sector | Other |
Impact Types | Policy & public services |
Description | BEIS Severe Space Weather Steering Group |
Geographic Reach | Multiple continents/international |
Policy Influence Type | Participation in a advisory committee |
Description | European Space Weather Assessment and Consolidation Working Group |
Geographic Reach | Europe |
Policy Influence Type | Participation in a advisory committee |
Title | Multi-spacecraft ionospheric methods |
Description | Methods applied to the inner magnetosphere and ionosphere. Tailored for analysis of SWARM magnetic field data. |
Type Of Material | Improvements to research infrastructure |
Year Produced | 2018 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
Impact | Springer Book to be published. |
Description | Professor at Beihang University |
Organisation | Beihang University |
Country | China |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Exchange of visiting personnel and joint research |
Collaborator Contribution | Exchange of visiting personnel and joint research. Travel funding. |
Impact | This appointment was renewed at the end of 2018. Beihang U are named PP on this grant Publications, method development. |
Start Year | 2018 |
Description | Space weather impact on rail systems |
Organisation | Network Rail Ltd |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Private |
PI Contribution | We have specified an initial set of periods of enhanced geomagnetic activity over the UK (characterised by dB/dt at Eskdalemuir Observatory) and passed these to Network Rail so they can make a preliminary survey of their asset failure data and see if there are any correlations. |
Collaborator Contribution | Support and advice via teleconferences, informal agreements to work with us to explore the correlation of rail anomalies with geomagnetic activity. Provision of two sets of rail system anomaly data: (a) UK national coverage for two moderate storms in March 2015 and September 2017; (b) detailed reports from Wales and the Marches covering major storms in 2003 to 2005. |
Impact | First detailed analysis of rail anomaly data presented at SWIGS team workshop in September 2018. |
Start Year | 2017 |
Description | Space weather impact on rail systems |
Organisation | WS Atkins |
Department | Atkins Rail |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Private |
PI Contribution | We have specified an initial set of periods of enhanced geomagnetic activity over the UK (characterised by dB/dt at Eskdalemuir Observatory) and passed these to Network Rail so they can make a preliminary survey of their asset failure data and see if there are any correlations. |
Collaborator Contribution | Support and advice via teleconferences, informal agreements to work with us to explore the correlation of rail anomalies with geomagnetic activity. Provision of two sets of rail system anomaly data: (a) UK national coverage for two moderate storms in March 2015 and September 2017; (b) detailed reports from Wales and the Marches covering major storms in 2003 to 2005. |
Impact | First detailed analysis of rail anomaly data presented at SWIGS team workshop in September 2018. |
Start Year | 2017 |
Description | AGU fall meeting |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | presentations at the meeting. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
Description | AOGS conference |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | invited presentation |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
Description | Chapman conference |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Chapman Conference on CURRENTS IN GEOSPACE. Proceedings published by AGU books. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
Description | EGU |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | conference |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2010,2011,2012,2013,2014 |
Description | It's not just satellites: bad space weather reaches the ground |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
Results and Impact | Oral talk reviewing how space weather can disrupt ground-based systems, presented to mixed audience of researchers and people from sectors at risk from disruption (in this case disruption by space weather) |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
Description | MICE |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Working group set up by ESA to support the SWARM analysis. Topic was the comparison of outputs from different methods to assess quality parameters and the effect of physical conditions. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
Description | MIST meeting 3 days |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Presentation made |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
Description | RAS discussion meeting: 1 day |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Presentations made relating to SWIGS at the meeting on: The Global Response of the Terrestrial Magnetosphere During Storms and Substorms. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
Description | RAS discussion meeting: 1 day |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Posters and presentations for the SWIGS consortium... |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
Description | SMILE consortium meeting |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Consortium meeting to discuss development on upcoming ESA-China space weather science mission |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
Description | SWIGS progress meeting |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Progress and planning meeting |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
Description | Should we care about space weather? |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | I was interviewed by BBC Weather meteorologist Simon King and Clare Nasir for a podcast on space weather as part of BBC series "Under the Weather". My interview was the fifth podcast in the series and entitled "Should we care about space weather?", released 16 April 2018 |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
URL | https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p064f6s3 |
Description | Simple scenarios for simulating severe space weather impacts on power grids |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
Results and Impact | Poster presentation on simulation of scenarios of disruptive events, presented to mixed audience of researchers and people from sectors at risk from disruption (in this case disruption by space weather) |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
URL | http://purl.org/net/epubs/work/41018576 |
Description | Working group on multi-spacecraft ionospheric tools |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Working group on multi-spacecraft ionospheric tools. Book of science based chapters in pres. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016,2017,2018,2019 |
URL | http://www.issibern.ch/workinggroups/ionosphericspacecraft/ |