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Advances in aviation radiation mitigation were demonstrated during the Gannon storm (2507.00887v1)

Published 1 Jul 2025 in physics.space-ph

Abstract: The validation of a strategy for aviation radiation hazard mitigation in development for decades has been completed using two commercial airline flights in 2024 and 2025. This article provides a historical review of the primary elements leading to that strategy, including the building of aviation radiation awareness and collaborative efforts by global aviation and radiological bodies that established mitigation standards. The validation of an ALARA strategy was accomplished using two UAL 990 flights on B777 200 aircraft between San Francisco and Paris. Each carried the same ARMAS FM7 radiation monitoring unit, where one flight occurred during the extreme geomagnetic storm (Gannon storm) May 10 to 11, 2024 and one flight occurred during quiet geomagnetic conditions June 8 to 9, 2025. The flight results validated the strategy using the ALARA principle in an area that is under operational control during extreme space weather, i.e., applying shielding from two domains to reduce dose. One method is flying lower magnetic latitudes to gain more Earth magnetic field shielding and the other is flying lower altitudes to use atmosphere depth shielding. Both of these ALARA shielding methods are controllable in airline operations and air traffic management and have now been validated with total dose measurements by ARMAS. This study shows the effectiveness of the strategy to deviate flight paths to lower magnetic latitude routes and lower altitudes during major geomagnetic storms. Not only does this approach mitigate HF communication outages but it also reduces risks from increased GNSS errors for takeoff and landing navigation. Magnetic field shielding is a major risk reduction factor for radiation, communication, and navigation while altitude shielding substantially reduces radiation hazard risks.

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