At a Glance
- Scientists discovered that a solar storm 14,300 years ago was the most powerful ever recorded, surpassing the 775 AD event by 18 percent in radiocarbon intensity.
- Using the SOCOL:14C-Ex model, researchers simulated solar particle storms under Ice Age conditions and found the 12350 BC event to be over 500 times stronger than the 2005 storm.
- Tree ring radiocarbon data captured the storm’s effects, revealing the long-term atmospheric impact of high-energy solar particles on Earth.
- This research enhances our understanding of ancient solar behavior and helps assess the potential threat solar storms pose to modern technologies like satellites and power grids.
- The findings also improve dating methods for ancient events and provide new tools to study solar activity under varying climate conditions, including glacial periods.
An international team of scientists has discovered that a massive solar storm struck Earth around 14,300 years ago, marking the most extreme solar event ever recorded. This storm, which occurred during the tail end of the Ice Age, produced a surge of solar particles that created a significant spike in radiocarbon levels, a process known as Miyake events. Until now, the most intense solar storm recorded was from 775 AD, but this new finding, based on ancient radiocarbon data, shows that the event in 12350 BC was about 18% stronger than the 775 AD event, making it the most powerful solar particle storm ever observed.
To analyze this extraordinary event, the team of researchers, led by Dr. Kseniia Golubenko and Professor Ilya Usoskin from the University of Oulu in Finland, used a newly developed chemistry-climate model called SOCOL:14C-Ex. This model was designed to study solar particle storms during ancient glacial climate conditions, something previous models could not do. By comparing this storm to more recent events like the 2005 particle storm, which was significantly weaker, they found that the 12350 BC event was more than 500 times stronger.
Solar particle storms, which are rare, involve high-energy particles that the Sun sends out. These particles can impact the Earth’s atmosphere and lead to increases in the production of cosmogenic isotopes like radiocarbon. These isotopes are preserved in tree rings, providing a clear record of past solar activity. The findings provide insight into ancient solar phenomena and open the door to a better understanding of how solar storms could impact Earth today, particularly in terms of the potential risks to modern infrastructure like satellites and power grids.
This discovery, whose results were published in Earth and Planetary Science Letters, also allows scientists to refine their ability to date ancient events and understand the behavior of the Sun throughout history. The model they developed for this research extends beyond the current understanding of solar storms, providing new tools to study solar activity during different climate conditions, including the harsh environments of the Ice Age. This breakthrough offers valuable information for studying the Earth’s past while informing future space weather predictions and mitigating potential risks from solar storms.
References
- University of Oulu. (2025, May 15). New research reveals the strongest solar event ever detected, in 12350 BC. Phys.Org; University of Oulu. https://phys.org/news/2025-05-reveals-strongest-solar-event-bc.html
- Golubenko, K., Usoskin, I., Rozanov, E., & Bard, E. (2025). New SOCOL:14C-Ex model reveals that the Late-Glacial radiocarbon spike in 12350 BC was caused by the record-strong extreme solar storm. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 661, 119383. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2025.119383
