A five-year research programme by the University of Otago, along with a touring science showcase by Tuhura Otago Museum, will together educate New Zealanders on extreme space weather events.
University of Otago physics professor Craig Rodger said the research would investigate the hazards posed by extreme weather events to New Zealand’s energy infrastructure.
Physical phenomena on the sun could impact our technology on the Earth in different ways, he said.
Clouds of mass, produced by explosions on the sun, were nicknamed "solar tsunamis", which could alter the Earth’s magnetic field.
"It literally is a big wave of mass coming from the sun sweeping out towards us caused by an explosion, much like an earthquake triggering a tsunami," Prof Rodger said.
It carried the same magnetic field as the sun and, upon reaching the Earth half a day to two days later, would crash into our magnetic field, pushing it inwards closer to the Earth, he said.
Prof Rodger said it was like a giant hand reaching out from the sun and squeezing the magnetic field of the Earth.
The changing magnetic field could affect electrical conduction along power lines and natural gas pipelines around the country as a result.
In addition to solar tsunamis, radio waves emitted from the sun could interfere with radio systems on the Earth by "screaming" at the same frequencies that GPS systems used.
They could also oscillate at the same frequency as air traffic control radars and produce readings of "ghost planes" that did not exist.
"You can’t do air traffic control if there are five or 10 times the number of ghost planes as there are real planes."
Prof Rodger said these extreme events were not common, occurring once every 100 or 200 years, but were more common than a magnitude seven earthquake.
In 2001, Transpower lost a transformer in Halfway Bush due to a space weather incident, he said.
The outcomes from the research programme would provide a risk assessment and risk mitigation of solar tsunamis, in the context of our country, he said.
Tuhura Otago Museum senior science engagement co-ordinator Dr Marijn Kouwenhoven said the showcase would make really useful information accessible to New Zealand communities.
"Kiwis are great at banding together and following procedure when disaster hits, but that’s because we understand the risks of events like tsunamis and earthquakes," she said.
"Very few people are familiar with the causes and consequences of geomagnetic storms, so the showcase is going to address that gap."
Dr Kouwenhoven said not all space weather was something to be worried about, and could produce beautiful sights such as the southern and northern lights.
The science showcase would help people understand the risks but also marvel at what was happening overhead, she said.
The showcase will make its way along the length of New Zealand over the next two years, starting its journey in Tekapo.
It will be in Dunedin at the museum until November 19.
tim.scott@odt.co.nz , PIJF cadet reporter
