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A new investigation of radiocarbon data has revealed that an extreme solar storm, exceeding any previously documented event in human history, bombarded Earth approximately 14,300 years ago. Understanding such events is crucial for evaluating the risks posed by future solar occurrences to modern infrastructure like satellites, power grids, and communication systems.
Ancient Solar Storm Unearthed
This particular solar storm, uniquely occurring during the last Ice Age, had long eluded detection due to the lack of suitable models capable of deciphering radiocarbon data under glacial climate conditions.
However, a fresh study conducted by a team at Oulu University in Finland has provided a novel interpretation of these measurements, yielding startling results. By employing an innovative chemistry-climate model, the researchers determined that the prominent surge in the carbon-14 isotope, observed within fossilized tree rings, was triggered by a solar storm more than 500 times greater than the Halloween Solar Storm of 2003, the most intense such event in recorded history.
Understanding Solar Storm Impacts
Solar storms can lead to significant disturbances in Earth’s magnetic field, releasing substantial amounts of charged particles into the upper atmosphere. Primarily composed of high-energy protons, these particles elevate the levels of carbon-14, a radioactive isotope of carbon (also known as radiocarbon). This isotope is created when cosmic rays interact with nitrogen atoms present in the atmosphere. Scientists leverage radiocarbon concentrations to determine the age of organic materials, as these isotopes decay progressively over time.
In 2023, a pronounced increase in radiocarbon concentrations within fossilized tree rings was identified, implying a major solar storm event that coincided with the concluding stages of the last Ice Age.
Dating the Extreme Solar Event
The recent study has successfully assessed the magnitude of this solar storm and refined its dating. Scientists now estimate that the event transpired between January and April of 12,350 BC. This phenomenal event likely presented the hundreds of thousands of mammoth hunters inhabiting Europe with a spectacular display of aurora borealis.
Significance of the Discovery
“The ancient event in 12,350 BC is the only known extreme solar particle event outside of the Holocene epoch, the past approximately 12,000 years of stable warm climate,” stated Kseniia Golubenko, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Oulu and lead author of the new study. “Our new model lifts the existing limitation to the Holocene and extends our ability to analyze radiocarbon data even for glacial climate conditions.”
Previously, scientists had examined records of five additional radiocarbon spikes in tree ring data, linking them to potent solar storms that occurred in 994 AD, 775 AD, 663 BC, 5259 BC, and 7176 BC.
Comparing Solar Storm Intensities
The strongest of these Holocene events was the solar storm of 775 AD, impacting Earth during the reign of Charles the Great over the Frankish empire. While limited documented accounts of this storm exist, some historical records can be found in ancient Chinese and Anglo-Saxon chronicles.
In contrast, the recently analyzed storm from 12,350 BC deposited roughly 18% more charged particles into the atmosphere, underscoring its greater intensity, according to the study.
Implications for Modern Technology
Understanding the scale of such immense solar storms is particularly relevant for technology specialists in the 21st century, given our heightened reliance on electronic systems and space-based technologies.
“This event establishes a new worst-case scenario,” Golubenko explained. “Understanding its scale is critical for evaluating the risks posed by future solar storms to modern infrastructure like satellites, power grids, and communication systems.”
Past Solar Storm Events
- The 1859 Carrington Event disrupted telegraph wires worldwide.
- The Halloween Storm of 2003, though ten times weaker, altered satellites’ trajectories due to increased atmospheric density.
- The Gannon Storm of 2024, of similar intensity to the Halloween Storm, triggered a mass migration of satellites as spacecraft compensated for altitude loss.
A solar storm as severe as the one in 12,350 BC would likely cause unprecedented disruption if it were to strike Earth and its surrounding space in the present day.
The findings of this study were published in the journal Earth and Planetary Sciences Letter on May 15.