April 5, 2007
Solar bursts may threaten Global Positioning System
Something to worry about. The Global Positioning System, relied on for everything from navigating cars and airplanes to transferring money between banks, may be threatened by powerful solar flares, a panel of scientists warned Wednesday. Canada.com reports.
"GPS receivers have become widely used in recent years, using satellite signals in navigating airplanes, ships and automobiles and in using cellphones, mining, surveying and many other commercial uses.
"Our increasingly technologically dependent society is becoming increasingly vulnerable to space weather," David Johnson, director of the U.S. National Weather Service, said at a briefing.
The cause for their concern, Johnson said, was an unexpected solar radio burst Dec. 6 that affected virtually every GPS receiver on the lighted half of Earth. Some receivers had a reduction in accuracy, while others completely lost the ability to determine position, he said.
... "This is a wake-up call" to improve technology, commented Anthony Mannucci, group supervisor at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory."
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