Powerful Solar Flares Disrupt ONC Subsea Compasses 25 Meters Below Sea Level

Sun released an intense solar flare earlier this month. It was so strong that its effects were felt even below the ocean.

Intense Solar Flare Disrupts ONC Compasses

Numerous solar flares have been recorded in the past weeks, resulting in bright and breathtaking auroras. In March, Ocean Networks Canada (ONC), which monitored the ocean off Canada's coast, noticed odd data from its magnetic compasses.

ONC maintains submerged observatories at depths of up to 2.7 kilometers (1.7 miles) along the shores of Canada's east and west. The main purpose is to assist in orienting the Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers (ADCP) at the observatories, which track variations in ocean currents. ETheirdata must be examined tevery day o guarantee quality control.

As it approaches solar maximum, the apex of its 11-year activity cycle, the Sun has been exceptionally active lately. When the world experienced stunning geomagnetic storms in March, ONC data specialist Alex Slonimer first detected something strange in the compass data.

"I looked into whether it was potentially an earthquake, but that didn't make a lot of sense because the changes in the data were lasting for too long and concurrently at different locations," Slonimer said. "Then, I looked into whether it was a solar flare as the sun has been active recently."

They decided to monitor things since they appeared to be tracking. And the statistics again went crazy as strong solar activity started to show up around May 10. The Folger Passage, off the coast of Vancouver Island, is where the most noticeable impact was seen on a compass situated 25 meters below sea level. The needle deviated between +30 and -30 degrees there.

ALSO READ : Most Powerful Geomagnetic Storm in Years Led to Auroras Lighting the Sky Across the Globe

Solar Flare Caused Radio Blackout in North America

On May 10, there were a series of X-class solar flares erupted. The Sun released an X5.8-class flare, and within the past 12 hours, a trio of X-class flares blasted -- X1.7, X1.3, and a whopping X8.8, the largest flare of the current solar cycle.

It was so strong that, at approximately 12:51 p.m. ET, it caused power disruptions throughout North America. According to space weather physicist Dr. Tamitha Skov, it was the biggest solar flare of the cycle so far and could have been the first R4-level radio blackout if the Sun had not partially blocked bit.

Skov added that we are in the solar maximum phase. According to him, determining whether or not we have achieved the solar maximum is difficult. He believed the cycle would have two peaks, just like the last one. However, only time will tell if that's really the case.

Solar flares are powerful electromagnetic radiation bursts that come from sunspots on the surface of our Sun. X-class flares are the strongest and are categorized into lettered groups based on size. Numbers ranging from 1 to 10 (and higher for X-class flares) indicate the relative strength of a flare within each of these classifications.