What are the hazardous effects of magnetic storms?
The infrastructure and activities of our modern technologically-based society can be adversely affected by rapid magnetic-field variations generated by electric currents in the near-Earth space environment, particularly in the ionosphere and magnetosphere. This is especially true during so-called ‘magnetic storms’. Because the ionosphere is heated and distorted during storms, long-range radio communication, which relies on sub-ionospheric reflection, can be difficult or impossible and global-positioning systems (GPS), which relies on radio transmission through the ionosphere, can be degraded. Ionospheric expansion can enhance satellite drag and thereby make their orbits difficult to control. During magnetic storms, satellite electronics can be damaged through the build up and subsequent discharge of static-electric charges, and astronaut and high-altitude pilots can be subjected to increased levels of radiation. There can even be deleterious effects on the ground: pipe-line corrosion c
