From this, they developed a computer model called DAGGER that can quickly and accurately predict geomagnetic disturbances worldwide, 30 minutes before they occur. According to the team, the model can produce predictions in less than a second, and the predictions update every minute.
DAGGER’s developers compared the model’s predictions to measurements made during solar storms in August 2011 and March 2015. At the top, colored dots show measurements made during the 2011 storm. Colors indicate the intensity of geomagnetic perturbations that can induce currents in electric grids, with orange and red indicating the strongest effects. DAGGER’s 30-minute forecast for that same time shows the most intense perturbations in approximately the same locations around Earth’s north pole.
“With this AI, it is now possible to make rapid and accurate global predictions and inform decisions in the event of a solar storm, thereby minimizing – or even preventing – devastation to modern society,” said Vishal Upendran of the Inter-University Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics in India, who is the lead author of a paper about the DAGGER model published in the journalThe computer code in the DAGGER model is open source, and according to Upendran, it could be adopted, with help, by...