Researchers at Oregon State University are celebrating the completion of an epic mapping project. For the first time, there is a 3D map of the Earth’s crust and mantle beneath the entire United States. The map could help the utility industry protect the power grid and prevent wide-scale blackouts.
OSU professor in the College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences, Adam Schultz, is the principal investigator on the mapping project.
It’s a big deal to scientists and electric companies to see how naturally occurring geomagnetic currents and solar storms interface with the electrical substations that keep our lights on and our cell phones buzzing.
Schultz described the scope of his mapping effort. "If you’ve ever had a CT scan or an MRI and you have a radiologist— who’s using the images that come out of that to try to diagnose what might be bothering you. imagine you’re trying to that on the scale of a continent,” said Schultz.
This novel form of geological mapping looks 300km underground to form high resolution images of the electrical properties of rocks and minerals. Research teams logged 60,000 miles each year, surveying over 1,700 sites in 48 contiguous states.
Besides protecting the power grid from space weather, Schultz says the new map could be valuable in identifying areas for geothermal power exploration and minerals essential to clean energy technology.
For all its potential benefits, the mapping project has also taken a toll. Schultz says two team members died over the 18-year effort. Due to the intensity, sometimes, publishing opportunities were missed.
Schultz said “It’s beyond the normal range of scientific activities. I‘ll tell ya, when you’re done with something like that it’s like, ‘Oh okay! What do you do now?’”
Mapping projects similar to Schultz’s are now underway in Australia and China.
In May, residents of planet Earth experienced the strongest solar storm in more than 30 years, and many witnessed of the rate site of the aurora borealis, or northern lights, across large swaths of the United States and elsewhere.
Schultz said the storm also affected radio and some cellular phone service, and caused power grid irregularities and problems with GPS systems. “We didn’t see any wide-scale power issues during that storm and the power industry had access to the data we have provided through this effort, so that’s an indication of the project’s success," said Schultz.
“This is vital information that helps tell them how geomagnetic currents will interface with electrical substations,” Schultz said.
Oregon State’s National Geoelectromagnetic Facility is the largest facility for this type of measurement in the world, making the university a natural fit for the project, Schultz said. In all, he and his team received nearly $15 million in federal grants to support the work.
The information Schultz and dedicated researchers have been gathering has been shared freely during the project on the EarthScope Consortium | Powering Geophysics website. Now the first 300km of the entire U.S., from surface through the Earth’s mantle and crust, are visible in 3D, Schultz said.
