Solar storms battered Earth's magnetic shield

This is a news story, published by Space, that relates primarily to the 14CHRONO Centre for Climate news.

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extreme solar storms

Space

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Scientists have found evidence of past extreme solar storms. Their return could be disastrous for our technology-based societies

Summary

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74% Informative

In the not-so-distant past, the Earth was battered by much more extreme solar storms.

Evidence of these storms has come from analysing levels of radioactive carbon known as carbon-14 in tree rings.

The most extreme solar storm we have detected in the radiocarbon record took place around 14,370 years ago , towards the end of the last ice age .

We can’t yet forecast when it will happen, but new insights into the past tell us that there will be one sooner or later.

I'm Director of the 14CHRONO Centre for Climate , the Environment and Chronology , at the Department for Geography, Archaeology and Palaeoecology, Queen's University Belfast .

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