The Earth's magnetic field is something we live with every day yet generally aren't aware of. However, last week the magnetic field was hit by a giant coronal mass ejection. The resulting geomagnetic storm in the upper atmosphere disrupted communications and navigation systems, flight plans, satellites and power grids, and resulted in some lovely displays of northern lights. This was the largest solar radiation storm since 2003!

Coronal mass ejections (CMEs) are large-scale, sudden expulsions of magnetized plasma (this one was traveling at a whopping 1,400 miles per second) from the sun's outer atmosphere that are sometimes, but not always, associated with solar flares, according to the Stanford Solar Center.

The geomagnetic storms caused by CMEs occur when these masses of solar plasma and magnetic fields hit and penetrate the magnetosphere of the Earth. The magnetosphere is the area of space around the Earth that is produced by Earth's magnetic field (which is generated deep within the Earth's iron core).

The magnetosphere is critical to life on Earth; it shields us from high-energy particles and radiation from the sun and protects our atmosphere, oceans, even our ozone layer, from the erosive force of the solar wind (it is thought that Mars' lack of a magnetosphere may be partly responsible for the thinness of its atmosphere and absence of oceans). We aren't the only planet with a protective magnetosphere, but we do appear to have one of the strongest. The other magnetic planets in our solar system are Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.

While these sorts of events are apparently not harmful to life on Earth, the big question this raised in my mind was how these magnetic fluctuations affect animals that rely on the magnetic field for navigation. The earth's magnetic field is detected and used by birds, bats, fish, turtles, even frogs, salamanders, lobsters and bacteria.

The mechanics of this process are poorly understood, but there are currently two ideas about how animals might detect magnetic fields. One is the use of the magnetic mineral, magnetite. There is fairly conclusive evidence that a pigeon's (and presumably other migratory birds) magnetic sense is located in the nasal region of their beaks and is magnetite-based. Some animals that lack beaks might also use magnetite for navigation; it is found in the bodies of many migratory marine species, such as like whales, sharks, trout and sea turtles. Interestingly, humans have a crystal of magnetite in the ethmoid bone in our noses that is thought to help our sense of direction by making us sensitive to Earth's magnetic fields.

Other studies have discovered a molecule in the eyes of birds and bats that, after exposure to sunlight, becomes sensitive to magnetic fields; a chemical reaction that allows animals to "see" Earth's magnetic field.

Whether or not most of these animals are affected by CMEs is not known. However, homing pigeons often become confused and can't navigate during strong geomagnetic storms. And, in a number of studies the navigational ability of birds has been disrupted through the ingenious placement of magnets on their heads and beaks.

We're about to enter something called a solar maximum, a period of increased solar activity resulting in more of these geomagnetic storms in the near future. I wonder whether we'll also be seeing momentarily-confused birds wandering through our backyards?

Sue Pike of York has worked as a researcher and a teacher in biology, marine biology and environmental science for years. She teaches at St. Thomas Aquinas High School. She may be reached at spike/p>

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