Solar flares have long been known to disrupt satellites, radio signals, and Earth’s upper atmosphere. Now, a controversial new study suggests they may influence something far more unsettling: earthquakes. Researchers propose that when powerful solar flares strike Earth, they alter charged particles in the ionosphere. Those subtle electrical shifts, they argue, could interact with superheated, ion-rich fault lines deep in the crust—faults that behave like natural capacitors storing both mechanical and electrical energy. In theory, this planet-sized electrical circuit could nudge already fragile fault zones toward rupture.

The model treats Earth’s crust and the ionosphere as two ends of a massive, leaky battery connected by an electric field. When space weather disturbs the upper atmosphere, the electrical balance within stressed faults could shift slightly. Critics caution that the geological model may be oversimplified and that real-world rock layers likely dampen most of the effect. Even so, the possibility that solar storms could influence seismic activity adds another layer to an already volatile world. From space weather to tectonic stress, the systems surrounding and beneath us are more interconnected than we once imagined.

SOURCE: Live Science