There might be total darkness in the depths of the sea, but the sun still impacts the abyss. During this month's solar storms — you know, the ones that resulted in the aurora lighting up half of the planet on May 10 — Ocean Networks Canada's (ONC) deep-sea observatories recorded disturbances in the Earth's magnetic field.
The ONC observatories are located from the Arctic to the Antarctic and have more than 12,000 sensors recording data — that includes compasses used to measure ocean currents. Concurrent with this month's explosive solar activity, the compasses recorded significant anomalies — dramatic shifts in the earth's magnetic field. One compass at the NEPTUNE observatory near Vancouver Island changed direction between +30 and -30 degrees.
