Tree rings offer insight into devastating radiation storms

A composite image of a tree ring and flames - the UQ researchers analysed data from tree rings to measure historical cosmic events. A University of Queensland study has shed new light on a mysterious, unpredictable and potentially devastating kind of astrophysical event. A team led by Dr Benjamin Pope from UQ's School of Mathematics and Physics applied cutting edge statistics to data from millennia-old trees, to find out more about radiation 'storms'. "These huge bursts of cosmic radiation, known as Miyake Events, have occurred approximately once every thousand years but what causes them is unclear," Dr Pope said. "The leading theory is that they are huge solar flares. "We need to know more, because if one of these happened today, it would destroy technology including satellites, internet cables, long-distance power lines and transformers. "The effect on global infrastructure would be unimaginable." Enter the humble tree ring.