Electricity surges through the soil of Norway

[Elderberry]

Electroverse January 7, 2020 by Cap Allon

As originally reported by spaceweather.com — yesterday, January 6th, something unexpected happened in the soil of northern Norway.

“Electrical currents started flowing,” reported Rob Stammes, who monitors ground currents at the Polarlightcenter geophysical observatory in Lofoten–an archipelago in NW Norway.

This chart recording shows the sudden surge at around 19:30 UTC:



“It seemed to be some kind of shockwave,” said Stammes. “My instruments detected a sudden, strong variation in both ground currents and our local magnetic field. It really was a surprise.”

NASA’s ACE spacecraft detected something as well.

More: https://electroverse.net/electricity-surges-through-the-soil-of-norway/

[bigheadfred]

This is interesting. There are some definite changes happening to the planet. And they don't have anything to do with man-made climate change. Perhaps changes in the sun. Or Jupiter. Maybe something outside our solar system exerting changes on the whole thing.

[PeteS in CA]

It would be interesting to see the units in the vertical scale - amps, micro-amps, pico-amps. My guess would be that a local (Scandinavia) change in magnetic field induced a change in the ground current.

[Smokin Joe]

It would be interesting to see the units in the vertical scale - amps, micro-amps, pico-amps. My guess would be that a local (Scandinavia) change in magnetic field induced a change in the ground current.

I agree, but is anyone else measuring this? How widespread is the effect, or are we just seeing it reported from Norway because they are the only ones looking?

[GtHawk]

This is interesting. There are some definite changes happening to the planet. And they don't have anything to do with man-made climate change. Perhaps changes in the sun. Or Jupiter. Maybe something outside our solar system exerting changes on the whole thing.

Then again, maybe it's just getting ready to hatch.

[Joe Wooten]

This is interesting. There are some definite changes happening to the planet. And they don't have anything to do with man-made climate change. Perhaps changes in the sun. Or Jupiter. Maybe something outside our solar system exerting changes on the whole thing.

[Free Vulcan]

This is interesting. There are some definite changes happening to the planet. And they don't have anything to do with man-made climate change. Perhaps changes in the sun. Or Jupiter. Maybe something outside our solar system exerting changes on the whole thing.

 

[bigheadfred]

I agree, but is anyone else measuring this? How widespread is the effect, or are we just seeing it reported from Norway because they are the only ones looking?

@PeteS in CA

I think everyone monitors this effect. Even us. The USGS has a geomagnetism monitoring program. 

There may be more events towards the magnetic poles, but I've read earthquake scientists are looking at data to tie electric events and earthquakes in the hope of earthquake prediction.

[bigheadfred]

 

That's it. I'm Sitchin my dog on you. I'm SIRIUS.

[Snarknado]

How far is northern Norway from the magnetic pole? Could movement of the pole generate some current in its vicinity?

[thackney]

Another possible explanation is weather.

How Lightning is Created
https://www.weather.gov/jetstream/lightning

...The electric field within the storm is not the only one that develops. Below the negatively charged storm base, positive charge begins to pool within the surface of the earth (see image right)....



Tying together the ground and the items that protrude above it into an low resistance ground system, making the charges equal across an area and easy to move with the cloud movement is one way we help prevent/reduce lightning strikes in industrial facilities.

[Elderberry]

Geomagnetically induced current

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geomagnetically_induced_current

Geomagnetically induced currents (GIC), affecting the normal operation of long electrical conductor systems, are a manifestation at ground level of space weather. During space weather events, electric currents in the magnetosphere and ionosphere experience large variations, which manifest also in the Earth's magnetic field. These variations induce currents (GIC) in conductors operated on the surface of Earth. Electric transmission grids and buried pipelines are common examples of such conductor systems. GIC can cause problems, such as increased corrosion of pipeline steel and damaged high-voltage power transformers. GIC are one possible consequence of geomagnetic storms, which may also affect geophysical exploration surveys and oil and gas drilling operations.

Background

The Earth's magnetic field varies over a wide range of timescales. The longer-term variations, typically occurring over decades to millennia, are predominantly the result of dynamo action in the Earth's core. Geomagnetic variations on timescales of seconds to years also occur, due to dynamic processes in the ionosphere, magnetosphere and heliosphere. These changes are ultimately tied to variations associated with the solar activity (or sunspot) cycle and are manifestations of space weather.

The fact that the geomagnetic field does respond to solar conditions can be useful, for example, in investigating Earth structure using magnetotellurics, but it also creates a hazard. This geomagnetic hazard is primarily a risk to technology under the Earth's protective atmospheric blanket.

https://www.spaceweather.com/

NASA's ACE spacecraft detected something as well. About 15 minutes before the disturbance in Norway, the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) near Earth abruptly swung around 180 degrees, and the solar wind density jumped more than 5-fold. Earth may have crossed through a fold in the heliospheric current sheet--a giant, wavy membrane of electrical current rippling through the solar system. Such crossings can cause these kind of effects.

[Lando Lincoln]

Nightcrawlers most affected.