These effects may disrupt food logistics, manufacturing, electronic transactions and internet functions, experts warn.

To examine how solar storm-induced GICs affect the planet's structures, scientists at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) collaborated with heliospheric scientists, magnetospheric physicists, power engineers, and emergency management officials from various research institutions and industries during a pair of intensive week-long workshops in 2016.

According to researchers, the sun regularly ejects a stream of magnetic solar material called solar wind, as well as occasional huge clouds of solar material known as coronal mass ejections. The research team said these solar materials interact with the planet's magnetic field, which in turn leads to temporary changes. As a result, geomagnetically induced currents are formed just under the planet's surface.

The team also noted that long, thin, metal structures near the planet's surface —  including underground railroads, power lines and pipelines — may serve as conductors for these GICs. This means that electric currents may easily travel underground, the researchers said. In effect, GICs may negatively affect all these structures, the experts added.

How GICs affect power systems, railways and pipelines

The research team cautioned that GICs may be more challenging to manage in affected power systems, as they require careful control of electric currents to keep the power on. According to the researchers, GICs from strong solar activities may also lead to voltage collapse. Voltage collapse can cause temporary blackouts in certain areas, and may affect various industries such as transportation, health care, and commerce. However, researchers noted that GICs were unlikely to cause major power system damages. (Related: Know more about the latest developments in space science at Space.news).

"For permanent transformer damage to occur, there needs to be sustained levels of GICs going through the transformer. We know that's not how GICs work. GICs tend to be much more noisy and short-lived, so widespread physical damage of transformers is unlikely even during major storms," said Antti Pulkkinen, a Space Weather Researcher at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.