At the Earth’s surface, space weather manifests itself as geoelectromagnetic effects. Geomagnetic activity is increased, i.e. the geomagnetic field becomes disturbed, in other words, a geomagnetic storm occurs.
The geoelectric field drives currents, called geomagnetically induced currents (GIC), in man-made conductors, such as electric power transmission systems, oil and gas pipelines, telecommunication cables and railway equipment.
GIC may cause problems to the systems: transformers can be saturated, pipelines may suffer from enhanced corrosion, and telecommunication and railway systems can experience overvoltage.
Spokesperson: Larisa Trichtchenko