The consequences of solar storms can paralyze undersea fiber optic systems for months.
According to a study presented at the SIGCOMM 2021 conference on data communication, a severe solar storm could trigger an “Internet apocalypse”, leading to serious economic impacts and job losses for millions.
“We are not prepared for this, and there is currently no effective protocol in place,” shared Sangeetha Abdu Jyothi, an assistant professor at the University of California.
Undersea fiber optic systems are vulnerable to strong solar storms. (Photo: REA).
Solar storms are massive explosions on the surface of the Sun that send clouds of plasma into space. This phenomenon is known as solar wind, and when it reaches Earth, it can cause geomagnetic storms and auroras.
According to Abdu Jyothi, major solar storms will disrupt satellite radio waves, ground power transmission equipment, and cause widespread damage. However, the likelihood of these storms directly impacting Earth is only 1.6%-12% each decade.
Previously, only two such storms were recorded in 1859 and 1921. The Carrington event of 1859 burned out electrical systems in Europe and the United States, causing fires in several buildings and creating auroras near the equator close to Colombia. Additionally, in March 1989, a smaller storm caused a blackout in the entire province of Quebec, Canada, for 9 hours.
According to Abdu Jyothi’s research, since the development of the global Internet, the potential damages from a similar geomagnetic storm remain an unknown factor, highlighting the vulnerability of the Internet system under the influence of solar storms.
However, local and regional Internet connections are less likely to be affected because fiber optics are not influenced by geomagnetic induction currents.
On the other hand, the undersea fiber optic systems connecting the Internet between continents present a different story. The signal repeaters in these cables are highly susceptible to geomagnetic currents; the entire cable can become useless if one repeater encounters a problem.
Signal repeaters in undersea cables can be severely affected by solar storms. (Photo: The Manomet Current).
In her study, Abdu Jyothi mentioned that if a certain amount of undersea fiber optic cable in an area is affected, entire continents could lose communication with each other. Furthermore, countries at higher latitudes, such as the United States and the United Kingdom, are more vulnerable to solar weather impacts.
Therefore, if a massive geomagnetic storm occurs, countries at higher latitudes will be affected first. According to Abdu Jyothi, widespread Internet outages lasting weeks or months could happen due to the time-consuming nature of repairing underwater infrastructure.
“The economic impact of Internet disruption for a single day in the U.S. is estimated to exceed $7 billion. What would happen if the network system were to go down for several days or even months?” Abdu Jyothi wrote in her study.
Abdu Jyothi emphasized that power grid operators need to seriously consider the threat from extreme weather when expanding global Internet infrastructure. Specifically, laying more cables at lower latitudes is a starting point, as well as conducting resilience tests against the impacts of large-scale network failures.
