So is it possible that a passing gravitational wave could initiate some natural process that otherwise might have not happened?
You mean something like tectonic event trigger or something physics specific?
I assume the gravity wave could push the reaction to initiate by warping a subatomic element (like an electron orbital) into an otherwise impossible configuration on a scale of picometers for a split second.
To even detect these, we need to observe multiple pulsars over long periods of time in order to find minute effects only visible at galactic scales due to the nanohertz frequency of these waves. In other words, spacetime is being stretched and compressed at subatomic scales on a sinusoidal wave with a period of a month or so.
It’s a bit like asking if cosmic rays from the Pinwheel Galaxy are affecting cancer rates.
Thank you for that context!
I don’t know the answer but it’s an interesting question
However there's nothing that we know of that could happen close by, so the risk is near zero. Apparently the black hole at the center of the milky way is going to merge with another super massive blackhole in Andromeda in 4.5 billion years or so.
The real question is, is the change meaningful? If you have a tsunami but it doesn't change anything meaningful, is it an interesting observation outside of the event itself?