Geophysicist Stefan Burns explains in his YouTube video how coronal holes on the sun can lead to giant earthquakes on Earth. Burns explains that coronal holes are areas of lower temperature dark plasma that emit high-speed streams of solar wind containing coherent plasma waves and structures, which can load the Earth with energy. The most significant earthquakes from 1980 to 2018, magnitude 8.3 and greater, were preceded by sequences of coronal holes and high-speed streams.
Burns points out that the 9.1 Great Tohoku Earthquake of Japan, which triggered the Fukushima meltdown, was preceded by a sequence of coronal holes and high-speed streams, as was the 9.1 Sumatra earthquake in 2004, which had a devastating tsunami through Indonesia. Burns notes that we have had three coronal holes open up on the sun in the past few weeks, and this is significant because sequences of coronal holes in high-speed streams can lead to giant earthquakes.
Burns explains that high-speed streams are one of the primary loaders of energy into the Earth and the lithosphere because they contain coherent plasma wave structures. He illustrates this with a representation of an Alfvén wave, which is a magnetic field with a bunch of different magnetic field vectors that has a gentle undulation across the magnetic field. Burns explains that these waves can be more complex and dynamic than those found in liquids and can trap energetic ions in zones of lower magnetic field strength, creating a sweeping motion of energy continuously as the wave travels on. With a high-speed stream from a coronal hole, there can be continuous loading of large amplitude Alfvén waves for a long period of time into whatever system it’s interacting with.
Burns notes that the Earth is currently experiencing a lot of geomagnetic stress and energetic loading, and we’re seeing interesting pre-earthquake signals show up as well. There is strong electromagnetic activity in the Schumann resonances, which are frequencies that are created by lightning strikes and are present in the ionosphere. There have also been bursts of electromagnetic activity going all the way from zero to 1,600 Hertz, which is highly anomalous. Burns also notes that the Earth is experiencing strong electromagnetic potentials in the radiation belts, creating strong electromagnetic potentials in the ionosphere and therefore also in the lithosphere.
Burns warns that the third coronal hole is the most recent in a sequence of coronal holes that will cause a geomagnetic storm on Earth, which will probably start to impact us in the next few days. He recommends practicing grounding and aligning one’s circadian rhythm to the normal geophysical rhythms of the Earth. Burns ends the video by urging viewers to stay up to date on all this and more and thanking them for watching.
