EASA SIB No: 2012-09
EASA Safety Information Bulletin
SIB No.:
Issued:
2012-09
23 May 2012
Subject:
Effects of Space Weather on Aviation
Ref. Publication:
1. EU OPS 1.390 Cosmic Radiation;
2. SIB 2012-10 Single Event Effects (SEE) on Aircraft
Systems Caused By Cosmic Rays;
3. Appendix 1 contains a list of useful web-site and identify
those that provide information or prediction on actual space
weather.
Applicability:
All aircraft and their operations, all ATM/ANS (Air Traffic
Management/Air Navigation Services) systems and their
operations, all aerodromes and their operations.
Description:
This SIB informs aircraft operators, aircraft manufacturers,
avionics systems designers, electronic equipment and
component manufacturers, ATM/ANS service providers,
aerodrome operators and competent authorities of the effects
of space weather on electronic devices, communication,
navigation and surveillance services and human beings and
should be read in conjunction with SIB 2012-10 for on-board
systems.
Space weather is a generic term which refers to the
environmental conditions in the space around the Earth
extended up to the Sun. The major drivers for the space
weather are flows of energetic charged particles and
electromagnetic radiation. Both of which penetrate and
interact with the Earth’s atmosphere and magnetic field. The
main contributors to space weather can be further separated
into Solar and Galactic radiation.
The figure below is a graphical, not to scale, representation of
solar and galactic radiation and their interaction with the Earth
magnetosphere and ionosphere (from NOAA: National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (USA)). The sun
activity is the main contributor.
This is information only. Recommendations are not mandatory.
CAP.00117-001 © European Aviation Safety Agency. All rights reserved.
Proprietary document. Copies are not controlled. Confirm revision status through the EASA-Internet/Intranet.
1/8
EASA
SA SIB No: 201
12-09
Th
he solar actiivity follows an eleven year cycle. The last pe
eak
wa
as in 2001/2
2002 and th
he next one is forecast for 2013 (A
Also
reffer to parag
graph on So
olar Radiatio
on timeline iin this SIB)
ssification:
Clas
Th
here are sevveral classiffications pos
ssible. The following lis
st of
phenomena iss not exhau
ustive (from ICAO manuual on spac
ce
we
eather):
1. Ge
eomagneticc storm:
Ge
eomagneticc storms, strrong disturb
bances to Eaarth’s magn
netic
field in the sollar wind, po
ose problem
ms for manyy activities,
tec
chnological systems an
nd critical in
nfrastructuree. The topology
of Earth’s mag
gnetic field changes in the coursee of a storm, as
the
e near-Earth
h system atttempts to adjust
a
to thee jolt of energy
fro
om the Sun carried in th
he solar win
nd. CMEs (C
Coronal Ma
ass
Eje
ections) and
d the shock
ks they drive
e are often tthe causativ
ve
agent, and ca
an send the geomagnetic field intoo a disturbed
d
sta
ate for dayss at a time.
n storms:
2. So
olar radiation
So
olar radiation
n storms oc
ccur when la
arge quanti ties of charrged
particles, prim
marily proton
ns, are acce
elerated by processes at
or near the Su
un and then
n the near-E
Earth enviroonment is
bathed with th
hese charge
ed particles. These parrticles cause an
inc
crease in th e radiation dose to hum
mans, and ccreate an
inc
creased posssibility of single event upsets in eelectronics.
Ea
arth’s magne
nd atmosphe
ere offer soome protection
etic field an
fro
om this radia
ation, but th
hat shielding
g decreasess with altitud
de,
latitude, and m
magnetic fie
eld strength and directiion. The polar
gions on Ea
arth are mos
st open to these charg ed particles
s,
reg
because the m
magnetic fie
eld lines at the
t poles exxtend vertic
cally
downwards in
ntersecting Earth's
E
surfface, which allows the
particles to sp
piral down th
he field lines and peneetrate into th
he
atm
mosphere in
ncreasing th
he ionization.
3. Ra
adio black o
out:
Ra
adio blackou
uts primarily
y affect HF (3-30 MHz)) although
detrimental efffects may spill
s over to VHF (30-3000 MHz) an
nd
beyond in fad
ding and dim
minished ability for receeption. The
bla
ackouts are a consequence of enh
hanced elecctron densitties
caused by the
e emissions
s from solar flares that ionize the
This is information only. Recommenda
ations are not mandatory.
CAP.001
117-001 © Euro
opean Aviation Safety
S
Agency. A
All rights reserv
ved.
Proprieta
ary document. Copies
C
are not controlled.
c
Conffirm revision sta
atus through the
e EASA-Internett/Intranet.
2/8
EASA
SA SIB No: 201
12-09
sunlit side of E
Earth. For example,
e
the powerful solar flare of
o
No
ov. 4, 2003 resulted in lost or degrraded HF coommunicatiions
forr several ho
ours.
4. Ion
nospheric s torms
Ion
nospheric s torms arise
e from large influxes of solar partic
cle
and electroma
agnetic radiiation, which give rise tto the
occurrence off geomagne
etic storms. There is a strong coup
pling
between the i onosphere and the ma
agnetospheere, which
res
sults in both
h regimes being
b
disturb
bed concurrrently.
No
ote 1: Scale
es have bee
en established by NOAA
A for each of
o
the
e first three categories that associate the maggnitude of the
phenomena (ffrom minor to extreme) and its efffects on
sys
stems or op
perations.
ote 2: It sho uld be highlighted that the eventss described
No
above are nott occurring simultaneou
usly as pressented by th
he
pic
cture below .
.
Pottential Effec
cts on Th
he effects on
n the Aviatio
on system can
c be varieed.
the Aviation system:
s
Th
hese effectss can be sep
parated into
o two broad categories:
efffects on peo
ople on boa
ard and effects on systeems and
services
Pe
eople on boa
ard aircraft:: Solar radia
ation stormss, occurring
g
under particullar circumsttances, cause an increease in
rad
As high pollar
diation dose
e to flight crrews and pa
assengers. A
latitudes and high altitudes have the
e least shiellding from the
e greatest fo
or executivee jet and hig
gher
particles, the threat is the
altitude comm
mercial polar flights. Op
perators aree already
req
quired to mo
onitor the occupationa
o
l exposure of aircrew to
t
cosmic radiatiion (refer to
o EU-OPS 1.390
1
or Dirrective
96/29/Euratom
m on ionisin
ng radiation).
This is information only. Recommenda
ations are not mandatory.
CAP.001
117-001 © Euro
opean Aviation Safety
S
Agency. A
All rights reserv
ved.
Proprieta
ary document. Copies
C
are not controlled.
c
Conffirm revision sta
atus through the
e EASA-Internett/Intranet.
3/8
EASA SIB No: 2012-09
a. Systems and Services Affected:







Avionics
HF communication
Low frequency communications
GPS/GLONASS/WAAS/EGNOS/MSAS
Communication Satellites
Weather Satellites
Potentially any on-board system containing electronic
devices
ATC facilities/services
CNS facilities/services


Each of the above systems or services may experience
degraded operation or loss of function during periods of
high Solar and/or Galactic radiation levels.
b. Summary for People, Systems and Services :
The following matrix provides an overview of the effects on
people, services and systems (based on a table
established by George Washington University-Space policy
Institute):
Solar Flare
Solar Event
Secondary Effect
Effect on Earth system
A v i a ti o n r e l a te d s y s te m s
Occupants of aircraft
Avionics
HF Communication
GPS/Glonass/Galileo/WAAS/EGNOS/MSAS
Satellites (Navigation/Communication)
Low Frequency Communicattion
ATC facilities
NextGen/SESAR
X-ray
emission
Solar
Ultraviolet
Energetic
Radio bursts
emissions
Protons
(SEPs)
Increase
Ionospheric
ionosphere
disturbances
density
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
Coronal mass ejection
Solar wind
Solar
Energetic
Protons
(SEPs)
Enhances
radiation
belts
Plasma
Geomagnetic
storm
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
Galactic
cosmic rays
Aurora
Radiation
Ionospheric
scintillations
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
Effects of Solar and Solar and galactic radiation affects the whole of society and
Galactic Radiation not only aviation: satellites systems, electric power grids,
on Society
communication and navigation systems may be affected.
Some of these systems (e.g. power grids) are outside the
control of aviation authorities but it is important to highlight they
can be affected too.
This is information only. Recommendations are not mandatory.
CAP.00117-001 © European Aviation Safety Agency. All rights reserved.
Proprietary document. Copies are not controlled. Confirm revision status through the EASA-Internet/Intranet.
4/8
EASA
SA SIB No: 201
12-09
The fo
ollowing ris k considera
ations are re
elevant:
a. There is an
n increased reliance on
n GNSS as the main
navigation and
source for n
a time.
b. In a similarr manner, th
here is an in
ncreased reeliance on
satellite bassed commu
unications.
c. The
T Aviatio
on system is
s becoming a network
d. The
T use of polar routes for aircrafft trajectory is increasin
ng
as
a it provide
es reduction
n in travel tiimes. Especcially on such
routes, airli nes also ne
eed to consiider the effeects of solar
activity
a
on H
HF commun
nication: poorer qualityy, a shift to
lower usablle frequency
y bands, an
nd more noiise or fading
g.
During extre
eme solar activity,
a
HF communicaations may not
be available
e in the pola
ar region.
e. A peak of ssolar radiatio
on is approa
aching
f. The
T availab
bility, continuity, integritty and accuuracy of unaugmented
a
d GNSS in th
he region close to the m
magnetic
equator
e
can
n rapidly change in time during thee event. (se
ee
image below
w from ESA
A (European
n Space Aggency), whe
ere
the
t scintilla tion index is
s depicted. In areas whhere the
scintillation
s
index is larrger than 0.7 sudden ssignal losses
s
are
a quite likkely.)
Sola
ar Radiatio
on
Tim
meline:
NO
OAA (Nation
nal Oceanic
c and Atmos
spheric Adm
ministration)
have released
d data indic
cating that th
he solar raddiation effec
cts
on the earth a
are cyclic. The
T predicte
ed solar rad iation effects
are
e presented
d in the diag
gram below:
This is information only. Recommenda
ations are not mandatory.
CAP.001
117-001 © Euro
opean Aviation Safety
S
Agency. A
All rights reserv
ved.
Proprieta
ary document. Copies
C
are not controlled.
c
Conffirm revision sta
atus through the
e EASA-Internett/Intranet.
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EASA SIB No: 2012-09
The diagram gives an indication of when the earth will be
subjected to increased solar radiation.
The picture below presents the cycles since the beginning of
the 20th century (From ICAO manual on space weather):
Sunspot Solar Cycles
200
Smoothed Sunspot Number
180
160
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
14
15
16
20
19
30
19
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
0
00
19
10
19
40
19
50
19
60
19
70
19
80
19
90
19
00
20
Recommendations: Aircraft Operators should continue to make their crews aware
of this phenomenon and its potential effects. Operators should
also monitor the predicted solar weather information websites
This is information only. Recommendations are not mandatory.
CAP.00117-001 © European Aviation Safety Agency. All rights reserved.
Proprietary document. Copies are not controlled. Confirm revision status through the EASA-Internet/Intranet.
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EASA SIB No: 2012-09
to ensure awareness of when high levels of Solar and Galactic
radiation are present or are expected.
Aircraft manufacturers, avionics systems designers, electronic
equipment and component manufacturers should continue to
work together via the existing industry groups to assess the
potential effects of Solar and Galactic radiation at component,
systems and aircraft level and provide fault tolerant systems.
ATM/ANS service providers, aerodrome operators and
competent authorities should continue to make their relevant
personnel aware of the phenomenon and the potential effects.
Contacts:
For further information contact the Safety Information Section,
Executive Directorate, EASA. E-mail: [email protected] .
This is information only. Recommendations are not mandatory.
CAP.00117-001 © European Aviation Safety Agency. All rights reserved.
Proprietary document. Copies are not controlled. Confirm revision status through the EASA-Internet/Intranet.
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EASA SIB No: 2012-09
Appendix 1:
Useful web sites
a. ICAO: concept of operations, high level requirements and manual
available at:
i. http://www.icao.int/safety/meteorology/iavwopsg/Space%20We
ather/Forms/AllItems.aspx
ii.
b. EU OPS:
i. http://eurlex.europa.eu/Notice.do?val=479580:cs&lang=en&list=479580
:cs,&pos=1&page=1&nbl=1&pgs=10&hwords=(EC)%20No%20
859/2008~
ii. Paragraph 1.390 addresses Cosmic radiation
c. WMO:
i. http://www.wmo.int/pages/prog/sat/spaceweather-intro_en.php
ii. This site contains a space weather portal that provide links to
several other organisations dealing with space weather
d. ESA
i. http://www.esa-spaceweather.net/
ii. This site provides information on “today’s space weather” and
a link to the prediction centre of NOAA
e. NOAA:
i. http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/
ii. This is the site of the space weather prediction centre of
NOAA; A subscription service is available to receive alerts.
f.
SKYBRARY:
i. http://www.skybrary.aero/index.php/Cosmic_Radiation
This is information only. Recommendations are not mandatory.
CAP.00117-001 © European Aviation Safety Agency. All rights reserved.
Proprietary document. Copies are not controlled. Confirm revision status through the EASA-Internet/Intranet.
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