Severe Space Weather Events: Understanding Societal and Economic Impacts: A Workshop Report

by Committee on the Societal and Economic I, National Research Council, Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences, et al.

The adverse effects of extreme space weather on modern technology--power grid outages, high-frequency communication blackouts, spacecraft anomalies--are well known and well documented, and the physical processes underlying space weather are also generally well understood. Less well documented and understood, however, are the potential economic and societal impacts of the disruption of critical technological systems by severe space weather.

As a first step toward determining the socioeconomic impacts of extreme space weather events and addressing the questions of space weather risk assessment and management, a public workshop was held in May 2008. The workshop brought together representatives of industry, the government, and academia to consider both direct and collateral effects of severe space weather events, the current state of the space weather services infrastructure in the United States, the needs of users of space weather data and services, and the ramifications of future technological developments for contemporary society's vulnerability to space weather. The workshop concluded with a discussion of un- or underexplored topics that would yield the greatest benefits in space weather risk management.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0309127696
• ISBN13: 9780309127691
• Release Date: January 2009
• Publisher: National Academies Press
• Length: 144 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 8.4" x 10.9"