EGU22-6243
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu22-6243
EGU General Assembly 2022
© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Estimating the Geoelectric Field, Transmission Line Voltages, and GICs During a Geomagnetic Storm in Alberta, Canada

Darcy Cordell1,2, Martyn Unsworth2, Benjamin Lee2, Cedar Hanneson2, David Milling2, Hannah Parry2, and Ian Mann2
Darcy Cordell et al.
  • 1Georgia Institute of Technology, School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Atlanta, United States of America
  • 2University of Alberta, Department of Physics, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

Estimating the effect of geomagnetic disturbances on infrastructure is an important problem since they can induce damaging currents in electric power transmission lines. In this study, an array of magnetotelluric (MT) impedance measurements in Alberta and southeastern British Columbia are used to estimate the geoelectric field resulting from a magnetic storm on September 8, 2017. The resulting geoelectric field is compared to the geoelectric field calculated using the more common method involving a piecewise-continuous 1-D conductivity model. The 1-D model assumes horizontal layers, which result in orthogonal induced electric fields while the empirical MT impedance data account for fully 3-D electromagnetic induction. The geoelectric field derived from empirical MT impedance data demonstrates a preferential polarization in southern Alberta, and the geoelectric field magnitude is largest in northeastern Alberta where resistive Canadian Shield outcrops. The induced voltage in the Alberta transmission network is estimated to be ~120 V larger in northeastern Alberta when using the empirical MT impedances compared to the piecewise-continuous 1-D model. Transmission lines oriented northwest-southeast in southern Alberta have voltages which are 10-20% larger when using the MT impedances due to the polarized geoelectric field. As shown with forward modelling tests, the polarization is due to the Southern Alberta British Columbia conductor in the lower crust (20-30 km depth) that is associated with a Proterozoic tectonic suture zone. This forms an important link between ancient tectonic processes and modern-day geoelectric hazards that cannot be modelled with a 1-D analysis. The geoelectric field model and resulting line voltage is compared to differential magnetometer GIC measurements on one transmission line near the Heartland transformer in northeastern Alberta.

How to cite: Cordell, D., Unsworth, M., Lee, B., Hanneson, C., Milling, D., Parry, H., and Mann, I.: Estimating the Geoelectric Field, Transmission Line Voltages, and GICs During a Geomagnetic Storm in Alberta, Canada, EGU General Assembly 2022, Vienna, Austria, 23–27 May 2022, EGU22-6243, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu22-6243, 2022.