Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Severe Solar Storms Could Disrupt Earth This Decade: NOAA

IB Times Staff Reporter


The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, a federal agency that focuses on the condition of the oceans and atmosphere, said a severe solar storm could cause global disruptions in GPS systems, power grids, satellite communications, and airline communications.....
This is a particular problem in the U.S., especially and poses a severe threat especially in the eastern U.S. Several federal government studies suggest that this extreme solar activity and emissions may result in complete blackouts for years in some areas of the nation. Moreover, there may also be disruption of power supply for years, or even decades, as geomagnetic currents attracted by the storm could debilitate the transformers........
If the spent fuel rod pools at the country's 104 nuclear power plants lose their connection to the power grid, the current regulations aren't sufficient to guarantee those pools won't boil over -- exposing the hot, zirconium-clad rods and sparking fires that would release deadly radiation........

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