View source for March 1989 geomagnetic storm

{{Short description|Extreme space-weather event}}
{{Infobox solar storm
| title              = March 1989 geomagnetic storm
| image              = Magnetosphere rendition.jpg
| alt                = 
| caption            = Artist's depiction of [[solar wind]] striking Earth's [[magnetosphere]] (size and distance not to scale)
| g-onset            = {{Start date|1989|03|09|df=y}}
| g-ended            = {{End date|1989|03|13|df=y}}
| g-impacts          = Global [[communications blackout]]s; loss of power to the [[Hydro-Québec's electricity transmission system|Hydro-Québec power grid]]
| solar-cycle        = 22
|a-index=246|dst=−589 nT|k-index=9|ar-sxr-flares=X15|noaa=5395}}

The '''March 1989 geomagnetic storm''' occurred as part of severe to extreme [[solar storm]]s during early to mid March 1989, the most notable being a [[geomagnetic storm]] that struck Earth on March 13. This geomagnetic storm caused a nine-hour outage of [[Hydro-Québec's electricity transmission system]]. The onset time was exceptionally rapid.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mEqE-g128kk |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211220/mEqE-g128kk |archive-date=2021-12-20 |url-status=live|title=The Geomagnetic Storm of 1989|last=IEEE Spectrum|date=26 January 2012 |publisher=|via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Other historically significant solar storms occurred later in 1989, during a very active period of [[solar cycle 22]].

==Geomagnetic storm and auroras==
The geomagnetic storm causing this event is believed to be the result of two separate events known as [[coronal mass ejection]]s (CME) on March 10 and 12, 1989.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=David Boteler |title=A 21st Century View of the March 1989 Magnetic Storm |journal=Space Weather |publisher=AGU Journals |date=10 October 2019|volume=17 |issue=10 |pages=1427–1441 |doi=10.1029/2019SW002278 |bibcode=2019SpWea..17.1427B |s2cid=209943101 |doi-access=free }}</ref> A few days before, on March 6, a very large X15-class [[solar flare]] also occurred.<ref name="sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov">{{cite web |url=https://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/hotshots/X17/ |title=SOHO Hotshots |publisher=sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov |access-date=2019-02-03 |archive-date=2018-12-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181226235106/https://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/hotshots/X17/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
Several days later, at 01:27 [[Universal Time|UT]] on March 13, a severe geomagnetic storm struck [[Earth]].<ref name="Bnet">{{cite web|title=Space weather: Page 1 |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1511/is_n8_v16/ai_17253896/pg_1 |work=[[Discover (magazine)|Discover]] |accessdate=2008-01-20 |date=August 1995 |first=Eric J. |last=Lerner |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130602100449/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1511/is_n8_v16/ai_17253896/pg_1 |archivedate=2013-06-02 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Scientists probe northern lights from all angles |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/scientists-probe-northern-lights-from-all-angles-1.552461 |publisher=[[CBC News]] |date=2005-10-22 |accessdate=2019-12-21 |archive-date=2020-09-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200925132205/https://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/scientists-probe-northern-lights-from-all-angles-1.552461 |url-status=live }}</ref> The storm began on Earth with extremely intense [[aurora (astronomy)|auroras]] at the poles. The aurora could be seen as far south as [[Texas]] and [[Florida]].<ref name="storm"/> As this occurred during the [[Cold War]], some people worried that a nuclear first strike might be in progress.<ref name="storm">{{cite web|url=http://www.solarstorms.org/SWChapter1.html|title=A Conflagration of Storms|accessdate=2009-04-07|archive-date=2020-09-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200926152621/http://www.solarstorms.org/SWChapter1.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Others incorrectly considered the intense auroras to be associated with the Space Shuttle mission [[STS-29]], which had been launched on March 13 at 9:57:00&nbsp;a.m.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/missions/sts-29/mission-sts-29.html |title=STS-29 |publisher=Science.ksc.nasa.gov |accessdate=2010-08-09 |archive-date=2019-06-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190610123144/http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/missions/sts-29/mission-sts-29.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The storm caused significant interference to the United States power grid.<ref>{{cite journal  |author1=Jeffrey J. Love|author2=Greg M. Lucas|author3=E. Joshua Rigler|author4=Benjamin S. Murphy|author5=Anna Kelbert|author6=Paul A. Bedrosian |title = Mapping a Magnetic Superstorm: March 1989 Geoelectric Hazards and Impacts on United States Power Systems |journal =Space Weather |volume = 20 | issue = 5 |year = 2022 |doi = 10.1029/2021SW003030 |bibcode=2022SpWea..2003030L |doi-access = free}}</ref>

Substantial [[communications blackout]]s occurred. The burst caused [[shortwave radio]] interference, including the disruption of radio signals from [[Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty|Radio Free Europe]] into Russia. It was initially believed that the signals had been [[Radio jamming|jammed]] by the Soviet government.{{citation needed|date=January 2019}} As midnight came and went, a mass of charged particles and electrons in the [[ionosphere]] flowed from west to east, inducing powerful electrical currents in the ground.<ref name="storm"/>

Some satellites in polar orbits lost control for several hours. [[Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite|GOES weather satellite]] communications were interrupted, causing weather images to be lost. NASA's [[TDRS-1]] communication satellite recorded over 250 anomalies caused by the increased particles flowing into its sensitive electronics.<ref name="storm"/> The [[Space Shuttle Discovery|Space Shuttle ''Discovery'']] was aloft at the time and suffered a sensor malfunction: a sensor on one of the tanks supplying hydrogen to a fuel cell showed unusually high-pressure readings on March 13. The problem went away after the solar storm subsided.<ref>{{cite web |author1=Dr. Sten Odenwald |title=The Day the Sun Brought Darkness |url=https://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/sun_darkness.html |publisher=NASA |accessdate=11 March 2022 |date=13 March 2009 |archive-date=13 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220313220247/http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/sun_darkness.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

== Quebec power blackout ==
[[File:ExtremeEvent 19890310-00h 19890315-24h.jpg|thumb|right|320px|GOES-7 monitors the space weather conditions during the Great Geomagnetic storm of March 1989, the Moscow neutron monitor recorded the passage of a CME as a drop in levels known as a [[Forbush decrease]].<ref>{{cite web | title=Extreme Space Weather Events | publisher=[[National Geophysical Data Center]] | url=http://sxi.ngdc.noaa.gov/sxi_greatest.html | access-date=2012-04-20 | archive-date=2012-05-22 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120522031032/http://sxi.ngdc.noaa.gov/sxi_greatest.html | url-status=dead }}</ref>]] The variations in the [[Earth's magnetic field]] tripped [[circuit breaker]]s on [[Hydro-Québec]]'s [[Hydro-Québec's electricity transmission system|power grid]]. <ref>{{cite journal  |author1=L. Bolduc|title = GIC observations and studies in the Hydro-Quebec} power system |journal =Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics |volume = 64 | issue = 16 |year = 2002 |pages = 1793–1802|doi = 10.1016/S1364-6826(02)00128-1|bibcode = 2002JASTP..64.1793B }}</ref> The utility's very long transmission lines and the fact that most of [[Quebec]] sits on [[Canadian Shield|a large rock shield]] prevented current flowing through the earth, finding a less resistant path along the 735 [[Volt|kV]] [[High-voltage direct current|power lines]].<ref name="HQ_solarstorm">{{cite web |url=http://www.hydroquebec.com/learning/notions-de-base/tempete-mars-1989.html |title=Understanding Electricity - March 1989 - Hydro-Québec |author=Hydro-Québec |accessdate=2010-10-25 |archive-date=2012-03-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120309213222/http://www.hydroquebec.com/learning/notions-de-base/tempete-mars-1989.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

The [[James Bay Project|James Bay]] network went offline in less than 90 seconds, giving [[Quebec]] its second massive [[power outage]] in 11 months.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://archives.radio-canada.ca/environnement/catastrophes_naturelles/clips/14150/ |title=Le Québec dans le noir |date=13 March 1989 |first1=Michel |last1=Morin |first2=Gilles |last2=Sirois |first3=Bernard |last3=Derome |publisher=[[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|Radio-Canada]] |language=French |accessdate=2009-03-21 |archive-date=2011-06-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606172836/http://archives.radio-canada.ca/environnement/catastrophes_naturelles/clips/14150/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> The power failure lasted nine hours and forced the company to implement various mitigation strategies, including raising the trip level, installing [[Flexible AC transmission system|series compensation]] on [[High voltage|ultra high voltage]] lines and upgrading various monitoring and operational procedures. Other [[public utility|utilities]] in North America and Northern Europe and elsewhere implemented programs to reduce the risks associated with [[geomagnetically induced current]]s (GICs).<ref name="HQ_solarstorm"/>

== Military ==
One of the few publicly reported military operations impacted was the [[Australian Army]] component of the [[United Nations]] (UN) [[peacekeeping]] force which was deployed to [[Namibia]] at the time. The storm occurred just as the advance elements of the contingent arrived in Namibia, but the effects were believed to last for weeks afterwards. The [[Australian contribution to UNTAG]] was heavily reliant on [[High frequency|high frequency (HF)]] radio communications which were severely impacted.<ref>{{cite book
 |last         = Horner
 |first        = David
 |title        = Australia and the New World Order: The Official History of Australian Peacekeeping, Humanitarian and Post-Cold War Operations
 |work         = From Peacekeeping to Peace Enforcement: 1988–1991
 |publisher    = [[Cambridge University Press]]
 |isbn         = 978-0-521-76587-9
 |year         = 2011
 |volume       = 2
 |url          = http://www.cambridge.org/aus/catalogue/catalogue.asp?isbn=9780521765879
 |accessdate   = 29 July 2012
 |archive-date = 2 November 2012
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20121102101930/http://www.cambridge.org/aus/catalogue/catalogue.asp?isbn=9780521765879
 |url-status   = live
}}</ref><ref>{{cite book
 | editor-last  = Sowry
 | editor-first = Brendan
 | title        = United Nations Transition Assistance Group (UNTAG) in Namibia
 | work         = Training Information Bulletin Number 63
 | publisher    = [[Australian Army]]
 | issue        = Draft
 | publication-date = 1992
 | year         = 1992
 }}</ref>

==Aftermath==
On August 16, 1989,<ref>Ferguson, Jonathan (1989-08-17), ''Computer crash halts TSE''. The Toronto Star, p. E1</ref> another storm caused a halt of all trading on the [[Toronto Stock Exchange]] when three redundant disc drives all failed.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.newscientist.com//article/mg12316812.400-solar-storms-halt-stock-market-as-computers-crash|title=Solar storms halt stock market as computers crash|last=Dayton|first=Leigh|date=1989-09-09|website=New Scientist|access-date=2018-08-01|archive-date=2018-08-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180801094506/https://www.newscientist.com//article/mg12316812.400-solar-storms-halt-stock-market-as-computers-crash|url-status=live}}</ref>

Since 1996, geomagnetic storms and solar flares have been monitored from the [[Solar and Heliospheric Observatory]] (SOHO) satellite, a joint project of [[NASA]] and the [[European Space Agency]] (ESA). Extreme geomagnetic storms were registered in [[2003 Halloween solar storms|2003]] and [[May 2024 solar storms|2024]], both sparking northern lights as far south as Florida.

Because of serious concerns that utilities have failed to set protection standards and are unprepared for a severe solar storm such as the [[Solar storm of 1859|Carrington Event]], in 2013, the [[Federal Energy Regulatory Commission]] (FERC) ordered the [[North American Electric Reliability Corporation]] (NERC) to create standards that would require power grids to be somewhat protected from solar storms and equipment to be continuously tested for possible effects of solar storms.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/electricity-solar-storms/column-u-s-orders-power-grid-to-prepare-for-solar-storms-kemp-idUSL6N0LN3HU20140218|title=COLUMN-U.S. orders power grid to prepare for solar storms: Kemp|last=Kemp|first=John|editor-last=Brown|editor-first=Veronica|work=Reuters|date=2014-02-18|access-date=2018-08-01|language=en-US|archive-date=2018-08-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180801043334/https://www.reuters.com/article/electricity-solar-storms/column-u-s-orders-power-grid-to-prepare-for-solar-storms-kemp-idUSL6N0LN3HU20140218|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite act|title=Reliability Standards for Geomagnetic Disturbances|type=Order|number=779|date=May 16, 2013|article=Part 40|articletype=18 CFR|page=Federal Energy Regulatory Commission |url=https://www.ferc.gov/whats-new/comm-meet/2013/051613/E-5.pdf|access-date=2018-08-01 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130826223524/https://www.ferc.gov/whats-new/comm-meet/2013/051613/E-5.pdf |archive-date=2013-08-26}}</ref> After a technical conference and public comment, the final rule utilities must use for testing equipment and directing future research was published in September, 2016.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2016/09/30/2016-23441/reliability-standard-for-transmission-system-planned-performance-for-geomagnetic-disturbance-events |title=Rule Reliability Standard for Transmission System Planned Performance for Geomagnetic Disturbance Events |date=September 30, 2016 |author=Federal Energy Regulatory Commission}}</ref>

The 2011 [[Fukushima nuclear accident]] prompted the [[Nuclear Regulatory Commission]] to examine the sufficiency of cooling systems of stored spent fuel rods of nuclear power plants now considered vulnerable to long-term power outages, which could also be caused by space weather, high-altitude nuclear burst [[electromagnetic pulse]]s (EMPs), or cyber attacks.<ref>{{Federal Register|77|16175}}</ref>{{update-inline|date=May 2024}}

==See also==
* [[Active region]]
* [[Geomagnetic excursion]]
* [[List of solar storms]]
* [[May 1921 geomagnetic storm]]

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
*[https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/LfpWBYzehmJiAmZLHnRD5T.jpg Aurora observed over Sea Cliff, New York on March 13, 1989 - by Ken Spencer]
*[https://www.qsl.net/ok1vpz/de89aurora.jpg Dynamics Explorer UV image of the aurora on March 13/14, 1989 - L. A. Frank, University of Iowa]
*[https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/318247main_march_89_powergrid_500.jpg Artist rendition of the 1989 blackout over Canada and the United States - NASA]
* [https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1029/2019SW002278 A 21st Century View of the March 1989 Magnetic Storm]
* [https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1029/2021SW003030 Mapping a Magnetic Superstorm: March 1989 Geoelectric Hazards and Impacts on United States Power Systems]

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Geomagnetic Storm, 1989}}
[[Category:Geomagnetic storms|March 1989]]
[[Category:1989 natural disasters]]
[[Category:Hydro-Québec]]
[[Category:Power outages in Canada]]
[[Category:1989 in Canada]]
[[Category:1989 in science]]
[[Category:March 1989 in Canada]]