Solar Radio Burst Effects on Radio- and Radar-Based Systems

Radio emission from solar flares can attain such high flux density that the Sun becomes the dominant source of broadband radio noise in the terrestrial environment. The effects of this radio noise on wireless communication and navigation systems can take many forms, depending on the design and operation of the affected system. These effects can be of special concern for regional or global systems, since the effects can occur simultaneously over the entire sunlit hemisphere of Earth. This chapter reviews the origin of solar radio bursts, the threat they pose based on statistics of the flux-density distribution of such events vs. frequency, and some of the effects that have been documented in the literature. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the potential impacts on current and future technology and how these impacts can be mitigated (1) through improved radio monitoring of the Sun in both circular polarizations to supply meaningful real-time warnings, (2) through improved scientific understanding of the solar phenomena underlying the radio bursts, and (3) through improved system design that takes account of solar radio noise.