Solar Strandings

Storms on the Sun can have both beautiful and annoying results. They create widespread displays of auroras—the northern and southern lights. But they can damage satellites, disrupt radio communications, and knock out power grids on the ground. They might even cause some whales to strand themselves.

Solar storms produce huge outbursts of energy and charged particles. Among other things, those outbursts can change the strength and direction of the lines of magnetic force around Earth. Many animals rely on the magnetic field for navigation, including some birds and fish, sea turtles, and lobsters. The list also includes at least two species of whale: gray and sperm whales.

Studies in recent decades have found correlations between the strandings of these whales and solar storms. One study, for example, looked at 400 years of sperm whale strandings in the North Sea. It found much higher stranding rates in years when the Sun was especially “stormy.” A study of 30 years of gray whale strandings found similar peaks—especially when the Sun produced a lot of radio static.

Researchers speculate that the storms could essentially “blind” the whales to the magnetic field. The disoriented whales then could find themselves in shallow waters, and unable to escape.

There’s no confirmation that the storms are causing these strandings. So scientists are studying the subject in greater detail—trying to understand how storms on the Sun can affect life in the oceans.