Global climate effects are caused by coronal mass that is expelled from the sun’s solar plasma and interacts with Earth’s magnetosphere charge.
In addition to having strange and amazing effects on Earth, such as radio blackouts and the northern lights, geomagnetic storms can have unanticipated effects on birds.
Due to the impacts of geomagnetic storms, scientists have found that migrating birds stay on the ground during space weather events rather than flying.
According to a recent study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal, the number of migrating birds that flew fell between 9 and 17 percent during severe space weather events, and the birds that did fly had trouble finding their way to their destination. Newsweek reported on this finding.
According to research co-author Ben Winger, in an interview with Newsweek, “Birds and other animals are well known to use the Earth’s magnetic field to orient (determine which direction to fly in) and likely also to navigate.”
“They probably pick up on variations in the magnetic field’s inclination and intensity across different geographic areas. Although many other species of birds are known to possess this skill, it has primarily been examined in pigeons and small songbirds,” he continued.
In addition to being an assistant professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Michigan, Winger has held the position of curator for birds at the University of Michigan Museum of Zoology.
Storms making it harder for birds to navigate: research
The Earth’s magnetic fields are altered by geomagnetic storms. They happen as a result of solar flares or when the sun’s solar plasma expels coronal mass.
These cause auroras and other effects all over the world as they contact with electrons in the Earth’s magnetosphere charge. Animals and birds that rely on the magnetic field for orientation are also impacted by these changes.
According to our research, during strong geomagnetic storms, fewer birds migrate. We found evidence for this pattern only in fall migration and during high cloud cover, when birds might not be able to use celestial navigational cues. Our results also suggest that, under certain conditions, birds that do migrate during geomagnetic storms may have more difficulty navigating,” Winger said, Newsweek reported.
The study also found that, particularly in cloudy weather, birds did indeed have difficulty navigating during space weather events.
“Our study cannot specifically speak to birds getting lost as our methods (radar monitoring) do not allow us to track individual birds,” said Winger.
“However, a separate recent study from earlier this year found evidence that migratory birds likely do get lost in some of the same geomagnetic conditions affecting the birds in our dataset,” he stated.