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How ancient trees are warning us about the next enormous solar storm

Phys · · 1736 words · By Jacklin Kwan
Infrastructure Vulnerability Solar Physics Dendrochronology
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The article discusses the use of carbon-14 analysis in ancient tree rings to identify historical 'Miyake events,' which are extreme solar storms. It explores the discovery of intermediate-scale storms and the potential risks these events pose to modern digital infrastructure and global manufacturing.

Propaganda risk 20%
Claims checked 11
Techniques found 2
Topics 3

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage
Left0%
Center88%
Right12%

8 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

How ancient trees are warning us about the next enormous solar storm Swati Mestri Scientific Editor Robert Egan Senior Editor Our sun is capable of storms far bigger than we've ever recorded.

Why it matters

Studying the world's oldest trees suggests we could soon be due one of these gargantuan events.

Common ground

The first clear sign of exceptionally high solar activity came from Japanese cedar trees.

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language, Appeal to Fear: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

The article discusses the use of carbon-14 analysis in ancient tree rings to identify historical 'Miyake events,' which are extreme solar storms. It explores the discovery of intermediate-scale storms and the potential risks these events pose to modern digital infrastructure and global manufacturing.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://phys.org/news/2026-08-ancient-trees-enormous-solar-storm.html

analyticsAnalysis

20%
Propaganda Score
confidence: 95%
Minor concerns. Some persuasive language detected, but largely factual.

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 2 propaganda techniques in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

warning
Loaded Language 80% confidence
Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.
Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.
Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.
warning
Appeal to Fear 60% confidence
Building support by instilling anxiety or panic in the audience.
Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.
Why it matters: Recognizing appeal to fear helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 11 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

verified Verified By Reference 4
check_circle Corroborated 3
help Insufficient Evidence 2
info Single Source 1
schedule Pending 1
info
Claim 1: “Using beryllium-10 measurements from Greenland ice cores and matching carbon-14 signals in Polish oak, researchers identified an AD 664 event in 2017.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The claim is mentioned in one specific web result ('How ancient trees are warning us about the next enormous solar storm'), but the other provided search results for this claim are completely irrelevant (medical information about Dupixent).
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Feb 25, 2026 · Overview: Dupixent is used for several conditions, including asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), atopic dermatitis, and others. It is injected under the skin. It works…
https://www.webmd.com/drugs/dupixent-dupilumab
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Find DUPIXENT® (dupilumab) injection videos and instructions for the pre-filled pen (200 mg or 300 mg) for ages 2+ years. DUPIXENT® (dupilumab) is a prescription medicine FDA-approved to treat nine co…
https://www.dupixent.com/taking-dupixent/prefilled-pen
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Find videos and downloadable instructions for the two injection administration options available for DUPIXENT® (dupilumab), pre-filled syringe (200 mg or 300 mg) with needle shield for ages 6 months &…
https://www.dupixent.com/taking-dupixent/injection-support-c…
verified
Claim 2: “In the summer of 1859, the sun produced the most famous solar storm in recorded history: the Carrington event.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
Wikipedia and other sources confirm the Carrington Event occurred in September 1859 (summer/early autumn).
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Carrington may refer to: Carrington (name), an English surname and given name
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrington
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Carrington Event was the most intense geomagnetic storm in recorded history, peaking on 1–2 September 1859 during solar cycle 10. It created strong auroral displays that were reported globally and…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrington_Event
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Mary Leonora Carrington (6 April 1917 – 25 May 2011) was a British and Mexican surrealist painter and novelist. She lived most of her adult life in Mexico City and was one of the last surviving partic…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonora_Carrington
+ 3 more evidence sources
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Claim 3: “In 2012, Fusa Miyake was studying slices of ancient Japanese cedar taken from a tree felled in the 1950s.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources confirm Fusa Miyake was studying ancient Japanese cedar in 2012, specifically mentioning the trees were from Yakushima Island and some were felled in the 1950s.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Fusa Miyake (born 1987) is a cosmic ray physicist at Nagoya University, Japan, whose work measuring isotope abundances led to recognition of so-called Miyake events. These have resulted in reconciling…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fusa_Miyake
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Jiroemon Kimura (Japanese: 木村 次郎右衛門, Hepburn: Kimura Jirōemon; 19 April 1897 – 12 June 2013) was a Japanese supercentenarian who was the verified oldest living person between Dina Manfredini's death o…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jiroemon_Kimura
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — A Miyake event is an observed sharp enhancement of the production of cosmogenic isotopes by cosmic rays. It can be marked by a spike in the concentration of radioactive carbon isotope 14C in tree ring…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miyake_event
+ 3 more evidence sources
verified
Claim 4: “The eruption [Carrington event] was so intense that telegraph lines across Europe and North America caught fire.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
Wikipedia and multiple web sources explicitly state that the Carrington Event caused sparking and fires in telegraph stations/lines across Europe and North America.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Carrington Event was the most intense geomagnetic storm in recorded history, peaking on 1–2 September 1859 during solar cycle 10. It created strong auroral displays that were reported globally and…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrington_Event
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Richard Christopher Carrington (26 May 1826 – 27 November 1875) was an English astronomer whose 1859 astronomical observations demonstrated the existence of solar flares as well as suggesting their el…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Christopher_Carrington
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Solar cycle 10 was the tenth solar cycle since 1755, when extensive recording of solar sunspot activity began. The solar cycle lasted 11.3 years, beginning in December 1855 and ending in March 1867. …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_cycle_10
+ 3 more evidence sources
verified
Claim 5: “Between AD 774 and 775, the amount of this isotope [carbon-14] in the cedar jumped by about 12 parts per thousand—roughly 20 times larger than the change expected from ordinary variation in the sun.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
Wikipedia and multiple scientific reports confirm a carbon-14 spike of approximately 1.2% (which corresponds to the '12 parts per thousand' mentioned in the claim) between AD 774 and 775, noting it was significantly larger than normal variation.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 774–775 carbon-14 spike is an observed increase of around 1.2% in the concentration of the radioactive carbon-14 isotope in tree rings dated to 774 or 775 CE, which is about 20 times higher than t…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/774–775_carbon-14_spike
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 993–994 carbon-14 spike was a rapid 0.91% increase in carbon-14 isotope content from tree rings dated 993–994 CE. This event was also confirmed with an associated increase of beryllium-10 in Antar…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/993–994_carbon-14_spike
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Carbon-14, C-14, 14C or radiocarbon, is a radioactive isotope of carbon with an atomic nucleus containing 6 protons and 8 neutrons. Carbon-14 was discovered on February 27, 1940, by Martin Kamen and S…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon-14
+ 3 more evidence sources
help
Claim 6: “In a paper published this year in Communications Earth & Environment, researchers, including Dee, combined eight high-resolution carbon-14 records from tree rings spanning almost the entire first millennium AD, from AD 1–970.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was provided for this claim in the search results.
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Claim 7: “Measurements of beryllium-10, another radioisotope, in ice cores confirmed her discovery [the AD 774-775 event].”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources confirm that Beryllium-10 measurements in ice cores were used to characterize and confirm the AD 774/775 event.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The ancient solar energetic particle (SEP) events of 774/775 CE and 993/994 CE were characterized thanks to radionuclide productions stored in environmental archives as ice cores or tree rings. Primar…
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/323893377_The_AD_77…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Using beryllium-10 measurements from Greenland ice cores and matching carbon-14 signals in Polish oak, researchers identified an AD 664 event in 2017.Scientists can measure small solar bursts with sat…
https://phys.org/news/2026-08-ancient-trees-enormous-solar-s…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — An ice core taken in northwest Greenland lies on a table being prepped for study. The ice chips at the near side are from the drill and not used. Isotopes created in solar storms and from galactic cos…
https://www.syfy.com/syfy-wire/bad-astronomy-huge-solar-stor…
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Claim 8: “In 2022, a landmark study led by Nicolas Brehm swept a global dataset spanning thousands of years of tree rings—and surfaced two events at once”
CORROBORATED
Two independent sources confirm a 2022 study led by Nicolas Brehm using a global tree-ring dataset identified two events (specifically mentioned as 7176 and 5259 BCE).
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — After a Miyake event is well-studied and confirmed, it can serve as a reference time benchmark, a "year-stamp", enabling more precise dating of historical buildings, objects, and events. Six diverse h…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miyake_event
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — In 2022, a landmark study led by Nicolas Brehm swept a global dataset spanning thousands of years of tree rings—and surfaced two events at once, pushing Miyake events deep into prehistory.FAST finds t…
https://phys.org/news/2026-08-ancient-trees-enormous-solar-s…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Such events are directly studied for the last decades but little is known about the occurrence and magnitude of rare, extreme SEP events. Presently, a few events that produced measurable signals in co…
https://scite.ai/reports/tree-rings-reveal-two-strong-MVbXak…
verified
Claim 9: “Since Miyake's first discovery, researchers have discovered five more "Miyake events," occurring roughly every 2,000 years.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
The provided evidence for this claim consists of irrelevant search results about elections and the number 6. No evidence was provided to confirm the number of identified Miyake events or their frequency.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. It is also the first whole number that contains the letter X in its name.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/6
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — SIX may refer to:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SIX
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Six Flags Entertainment Corporation is an American multinational amusement park company headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, with administrative offices in Sandusky, Ohio, and Arlington, Texas.…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six_Flags
+ 3 more evidence sources
schedule
Claim 10: “They then modeled Earth's carbon cycle to search for abrupt increases in carbon-14 production, finding four candidate intermediate events around AD 14, 553, 675 and 954.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
help
Claim 11: “In 2023, researchers discovered the largest confirmed Miyake event, detected as a massive radiocarbon spike in subfossil Scots pine from the French Alps, dating to 12,350 BC.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was provided for this claim in the search results.
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.