The Space Environment Impacts Expert Group (SEIEG) is an independent committee of experts drawn from Academia, Research Institutes, Companies, and Agencies.
The primary purpose of the SEIEG is to review current and emerging risks to people and modern infrastructure posed by space weather, and to provide advice to Government Departments.
The SEIEG is independent of Government and does not receive funding for the work it undertakes.
Space Weather
Space weather refers to changes in the near-space environment that disrupt modern technology and endanger human health. Space weather is driven primarily by solar variations and causes disruption to power supplies, satellites, communications, aviation, navigation, pipelines and much more.
Meetings
The SEIEG meets twice a year and is hosted by the Government Office of Science. Senior civil servants from other Departments, such as the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and the Department for Transport, usually attend.
Membership
The SEIEG is composed of a core team, and a wider membership. The core team includes:
Prof Richard Horne FRS | Chair | British Antarctic Survey |
Dr Mike Hapgood | Former Chair | Rutherford Appleton Lab. |
Dr Mario Bisi | Rutherford Appleton Lab. | |
Dr Jonathan Eastwood | Imperial College London | |
Mr Mark Gibbs | Met Office | |
Prof Jim Wild | Lancaster University | |
Dr Simon Machin | Met Office |
The core team draws on the expertise of the wider membership.
Key Research Findings
Members of SEIEG have published influential reports and research papers which have been independently assessed by international peer review. These include the Royal Academy of Engineering Report on extreme space weather (Cannon et al., 2013), assessments of the economic impact of a severe space weather event (Eastwood et al., 2018, Oughton et al., 2019) and the development of realistic worst-case scenarios (Hapgood et al., 2021).
These research findings have been used to support the UK National Risk Assessment (2020), the National Space Strategy (2021) and the BEIS severe space weather preparedness strategy (2021).
Origins
More information about the origins of the SEIEG is available here.
UK Research Project Links
Reports and References
SEIEG Report (2012). Summary of space weather worst-case environments
SEIEG Report (2016). Summary of space weather worst-case environments. Revised edition
SEIEG Report (2020). Summary of space weather worst-case environments
SEIEG Report (2022). Summary of space weather worst-case environments. (3rd rev. ed.)
BEIS Severe Space Weather Preparedness Strategy (2021)
National Space Strategy (2021)
Defence and Security Industrial Strategy (2021)
Solar Storm Risk to the North American Electric Grid, Lloyds Report (2013)