A 'StormWall' Could Shield Earth From Devastating Solar Storms
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Learn more about "StormWall," what it is, and how it will keep Earth safe from potentially dangerous solar storms.
Rosie McCall is a London-based freelance writer who frequently contributes to Discover Magazine, specializing in science, health, and the environment.View Full Profile. Two years ago, Earth was struck by a large geomagnetic storm that scrambled satellites and forced transatlantic flights to change course. The event disrupted GPS systems, impacting the food industry and costing U.S.
agriculture half a billion dollars. While it is a more intense example, it is not an outlier. Geomagnetic storms — even extreme ones — are a relatively regular occurrence.
At their best, they can trigger the spectacular aurora borealis. At their worst, they can fry satellites, trigger power outages, and cause havoc. Now, researchers are asking how we can fortify Earth against its most severe side effects.
In a paper published in the journal Space Weather, the authors describe a system named “StormWall,” which involves flinging chemicals into the outer edges of the planet’s geomagnetic field in order to provide a temporary shield that deflects extreme space weather. “People have always thought, ‘space is huge, the sun is massive, we just have to sit here and take whatever it gives us,’” Brian Walsh, an associate professor of mechanical engineering at Boston University’s College of Engineering, explained in a statement. According to the paper, the system works as follows: Six spacecraft would be launched into orbit around Earth at a speed that perfectly matches the planet’s rotation.
Each of these carries a canister containing certain Earth metals (such as barium or lithium) that become electrically charged when released and exposed to sunlight. This produces plasma that drifts toward the edge of the geomagnetic field facing the sun. A plasma cloud then forms a barrier that deflects incoming space weather and prevents a significant portion from reaching Earth.
The team tested their system with simulations based on the 2024 “Gannon” storm, chosen because it is the largest storm for which upstream solar wind measurements are available. According to their calculations, it may be possible to reduce the storm's intensity by 50 percent or more. Walsh explained the substances released into space would then leave the system, drifting out on natural highways — “the magnetosphere flushes the material out within six or so hours,” he said.
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