A Space & astronomy forum. SpaceBanter.com

Go Back   Home » SpaceBanter.com forum » Astronomy and Astrophysics » Astronomy Misc
Site Map Home Authors List Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read Web Partners

Researchers find Global Positioning System is significantly impactedby powerful solar radio burst (Forwarded)



 
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old April 5th 07, 05:09 PM posted to sci.astro
Andrew Yee
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 667
Default Researchers find Global Positioning System is significantly impactedby powerful solar radio burst (Forwarded)

NOAA
Washington, D.C.

Media Contact:
Carmeyia Gillis, NOAA Space Environment Center
(301) 763-8000 ext. 7163

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 4, 2007

NOAA 2007-R206

RESEARCHERS FIND GLOBAL POSITIONING SYSTEM IS SIGNIFICANTLY IMPACTED BY
POWERFUL SOLAR RADIO BURST

During an unprecedented solar eruption last December, researchers at
Cornell University confirmed solar radio bursts can have a serious impact
on the Global Positioning System and other communication technologies
using radio waves. The findings were announced today in Washington, D.C.,
at the first Space Weather Enterprise Forum -- an assembly of academic,
government and private sector scientists focused on examining the Earth's
ever-increasing vulnerability to space weather impacts.

Solar radio bursts begin with a solar flare that injects high-energy
electrons into the solar upper atmosphere. Radio waves are produced which
then propagate to the Earth and cover a broad frequency range. The radio
waves act as noise over these frequencies including those used by GPS and
other navigational systems which can degrade a signal.

NOAA, NASA and partner agencies in the National Space Weather Program are
looking to the future needs of our highly technical society, and are
anticipating seamless specification and prediction of the atmosphere from
the ground to the edges of the Earth's magnetosphere and beyond to the
Moon and Mars. NOAA's Space Environment Center is the nation's first alert
of solar activity.

"Space weather cuts across many different federal agencies and is a
particularly fruitful area in which to develop sustained partnerships
between government agencies and academia," said Brig. Gen. David. L.
Johnson, U.S. Air Force (Ret.), director of NOAA's National Weather
Service. "We are, and will continue, to work together to keep the public
ahead of nature's storms."

Forecasters from NOAA's Space Environment Center in Boulder, Colo.,
observed two powerful solar flares on December 5 and 6, 2006. These
violent eruptions originated from a large sunspot cluster identified by
NOAA.

On December 6, 2006, a solar flare created an unprecedented intense solar
radio burst causing large numbers of receivers to stop tracking the GPS
signal. Using specially designed receivers built at Cornell University as
sensitive space weather monitors, Cornell scientists were able to make the
first quantitative measurements of the effect of earlier solar radio
bursts on GPS receivers. Extrapolations from a previous moderate event led
to the prediction that larger solar radio bursts, expected during solar
maximum, would disturb GPS receiver operation for some users.

"In December, we found the effect on GPS receivers were more profound and
wide spread than we expected," said Paul Kintner, Ph.D., professor of
electrical and computer engineering at Cornell University. "Now we are
concerned more severe consequences will occur during the next solar
maximum."

"This solar radio burst occurred during the solar minimum, yet produced as
much as 10 times more radio noise than the previous record," said Dale
Gary, Ph.D., chair and professor of the physics department at New Jersey
Institute of Technology. "Measurements with NJIT's solar radiotelescope
confirmed, at its peak, the burst produced 20,000 times more radio
emission than the entire rest of the Sun. This was enough to swamp GPS
receivers over the entire sunlit side of Earth."

The Global GPS Network, a set of precise GPS receivers used for a variety
of scientific and real-time applications, was also affected by this solar
disturbance. These applications include a very high accuracy positioning
service that can provide a user's position with 10 to 20 cm accuracy
anywhere in the world, on land, in the air or in Earth's orbit.

"NASA wants to better understand this solar phenomenon so we can limit the
adverse impacts on real-time systems," said Tony Mannucci, Ph.D.,
principal technical staff and supervisor, Ionospheric and Atmospheric
Remote Sensing Group at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Additionally, researchers at Boston College found the December 6 event was
the first time a solar radio burst was detected on the civil air
navigation system, Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS).

"Although our findings indicate the effects of this solar burst were less
intense on WAAS than on other operational systems, mainly due to the
robust system design, it is important for us to consider the potential
impact of future, more powerful, solar radio bursts during periods of high
solar activity," said Patricia Doherty, co-director and senior scientist,
Institute for Scientific Research at Boston College.

There are three key points to remember about solar radio bursts. "First,
society cannot become overly reliant on technology without an awareness
and understanding of the effects of future space weather disruptions,"
said Anthea Coster, Ph.D., MIT Haystack Observatory. Second, the December
6 event dramatically shows the effect of solar radio bursts is global and
instantaneous. "Third, and equally important, the size and timing of this
burst were completely unexpected and the largest ever detected. We do not
know how often we can expect solar radio bursts of this size or even
larger."

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, an agency of the U.S.
Commerce Department, is celebrating 200 years of science and service to
the nation. From the establishment of the Survey of the Coast in 1807 by
Thomas Jefferson to the formation of the Weather Bureau and the Commission
of Fish and Fisheries in the 1870s, much of America's scientific heritage
is rooted in NOAA.

NOAA is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety
through the prediction and research of weather and climate-related events
and information service delivery for transportation, and by providing
environmental stewardship of our nation's coastal and marine resources.
Through the emerging Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS),
NOAA is working with its federal partners, more than 60 countries and the
European Commission to develop a global monitoring network that is as
integrated as the planet it observes, predicts and protects.

Relevant Web Sites:

* NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Prediction
http://www.ncep.noaa.gov
* NOAA Space Environment Center
http://www.sec.noaa.gov
* NOAA primer on Space Weather
http://www.sec.noaa.gov/primer/primer.html
* Cornell University
http://gps.ece.cornell.edu
* New Jersey Institute of Technology
http://web.njit.edu/~dgary
* Boston College
http://www.bc.edu/research/isr
* MIT's Haystack Observatory
http://www.haystack.mit.edu/~ajc
* NASA's JPL
http://genesis.jpl.nasa.gov

IMAGE CAPTION:
[http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories...12-05-2006.jpg
(153KB)]
The Dec. 5, 2006 solar flare that caused the following day's intense radio
burst that affected GPS systems. Credit: NOAA

NOAA News Conference Audio (mp3)
April 4, 2007, Washington, D.C.

* Retired Air Force Brig. Gen. David L. Johnson
Director, NOAA National Weather Service (3:02)

http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/audio/s...04-04-2007.mp3
* Paul M. Kintner, Jr., Ph.D.
Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Cornell University
(3:20)

http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/audio/s...04-04-2007.mp3
* Dale Gary, Ph.D.
Chair and professor, Physics Department, New Jersey Institute of
Technology (4:31)
http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/audio/s...04-04-2007.mp3
* Tony Mannucci, Ph.D.
Principal member of the Technical Staff and Supervisor, Ionospheric and
Atmospheric Remote Sensing Group, NASA JPL (2:21)

http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/audio/s...04-04-2007.mp3
* Patricia Doherty
Co-director and senior research scientist, Boston College Institute for
Scientific Research (5:29)

http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/audio/s...04-04-2007.mp3
* Anthea Coster, Ph.D.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology Haystack Observatory (5:02)

http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/audio/s...04-04-2007.mp3


 




Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

vB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Researchers find Global Positioning System is significantly impacted by powerful solar radio burst (Forwarded) Andrew Yee[_1_] News 0 April 5th 07 04:10 PM
Astronomers Find Farthest Known Gamma-Ray Burst with ESO VLT (Forwarded) Andrew Yee Astronomy Misc 0 September 12th 05 05:01 PM
Astronomers Find Farthest Known Gamma-Ray Burst with ESO VLT(Forwarded) Andrew Yee News 0 September 12th 05 04:27 PM
Canadians in the Prairies can help find clues about the Solar System(Forwarded) Andrew Yee Astronomy Misc 0 July 26th 05 05:34 PM


All times are GMT +1. The time now is 10:08 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.6.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright ©2004-2024 SpaceBanter.com.
The comments are property of their posters.