RAPID: Collecting Perishable Critical Infrastructure Operational Data for May 2024 Space Weather Events

In May 2024, energetic eruptions from the Sun induced severe space weather events on Earth that produced auroras even at low latitudes, e.g., in Florida. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Space Weather Prediction Center issued an extreme geomagnetic storm warning for the first time in twenty years. Although the May 2024 extreme space weather events appeared to have few dire impacts on our technological society, the reality is that these were highly challenging operational conditions for critical infrastructure operators, particularly for electricity transmission and satellite networks. This Rapid Response Research (RAPID) project will fund research focused on collecting perishable operational data from critical infrastructure operators. The goals are to enable future generations of scientists and engineers to better understand how to model space weather hazards and inform critical infrastructure protection decisions. High school students participating in George Mason University Aspiring Scientists Summer Internship Program will be engaged in this work. The broader impacts to society are (i) in strengthening critical infrastructure resilience, which is essential for our national economy and security, and (ii) contributing to STEM education and increased awareness about the natural hazards of extreme space weather. This RAPID project will fund research that (i) urgently collects operational log data from critical infrastructure operators, especially for electricity transmission and satellite networks, (ii) gathers contextual timeline narratives from infrastructure managers on the decisions taken before, during and after the May 2024 space weather events, and (iii) surveys a range of critical infrastructure operators to gather information on space weather impacts and mitigation decisions. Gathering perishable event data will not only improve space weather models but also provide evidence into the effectiveness of recent capital investment and decisions, which can be fed back into existing risk theory to ensure national security. The information collected will be transcribed, anonymized, and published for researchers to utilize alongside other data sources to advance knowledge of High-Impact, Low-Frequency space weather hazards. This grant is co-funded by the GEO/AGS Space Weather Research program and the ENG/CMMI Humans, Disasters, and the Built Environment (HDBE) program. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.