Numerical Calculation of Geoelectric Fields That Affect Critical Infrastructure

Abstract

One of the modern applications of geomagnetism is determining the effect of geomagnetic disturbances on critical infrastructure such as power systems and pipelines. Assessing the geomagnetic hazard to such systems requires calculation of the geoelectric fields produced during geomagnetic disturbances. Such geoelectric fields can then be used as input to system models to calculate the impact on the system. This paper describes what is involved in calculating the geoelectric fields produced during real geomagnetic disturbances. The theory of geomagnetic induction is presented and used to derive the Earth transfer function relating the geoelectric and geomagnetic field variations at the Earth’s surface. It is then shown how this can be used to make practical calculations of the geoelectric fields and how the calculation process can be verified by comparison with analytic solutions obtained with synthetic geomagnetic variation data. The accuracy of the calculated geoelectric fields for geomagnetic risk assessments is limited, not by the accuracy of the calculation methods, but by the availability of geomagnetic field measurements and Earth conductivity information over the whole extent of the affected infrastructure.