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Monday, August 30, 2021

Solar Storms and Undersea Cables

 Brought this up recently, a long time area of interest.  Note the particular mention that undersea cables would be at particular risk.

Bad Solar Storm Could Cause an 'Internet Apocalypse'

Wired, Lily Hay Newman, August 29, 2021

A study by researchers at the University of California, Irvine (UCI) on the potential impact of a coronal mass ejection on the global Internet found that continent-connecting undersea cables would be at particular risk from such a massive solar storm. The cables have repeaters fitted in approximately 50- to 150-kilometer (31- to 93-mile) increments, and cumulative failure of those repeaters could render entire cables inoperative. The researchers found that long distances between repeaters increase their potential for exposure to geomagnetically induced currents, while a solar storm also could damage orbiting equipment that enables services like satellite Internet and global positioning. UCI’s Sangeetha Abdu Jyothi also warned of knock-on outages if cable blackouts cause foundational data routing systems to malfunction.... '

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