What happens when the earth's magnetic fields change. Inversion of the Earth's magnetic field: a natural pattern or a fatal event? Magnetic inversion will not be instant
Among the global threats to humanity, another one has loomed. In recent years, more and more scientists are talking about changing the "registration" of the magnetic poles. And if the southern one has been steadily moving at a speed of about 10 kilometers per year for many years, then the northern one, which previously moved at such a speed, has now sharply increased and reached 65 kilometers per year. But the most alarming thing is that this speed is only increasing. The Pole has already gone beyond the 200-mile zone of Canada and is steadily moving towards the Russian Arctic coast. If nothing changes, the north magnetic pole will reach the archipelago in 50 years Severnaya Zemlya.
Last time Earth's magnetic poles "jumped" about 780,000 years ago. Photo: razvan25/iStock
And in the future, an inversion of the south and north magnetic poles may occur. There is an opinion that at the moment of polarity reversal, tension drops sharply. magnetic field Earth. Now, this is worrisome. The fact is that the magnetic protection of the planet from the flow of ionized particles coming from the Sun may disappear altogether. And although the former field strength is restored, by geological standards, very quickly - in the first tens of thousands of years, this is quite enough for all life on Earth to die. Some scientists believe that magnetic field reversals were one of the causes of mass extinctions many years ago.
Today, science knows that in the history of the Earth, inversions have occurred hundreds of times, Vladimir Pavlov, Candidate of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, from the Institute of Physics of the Earth, Russian Academy of Sciences, told the RG correspondent. - And in this phenomenon there is no obvious periodicity. There were periods of stability in 20 million years, and in 40, and even in 70 million, and there were when the poles changed places after 30-40 thousand years. True, over the past few million years, the frequency of reversals has been 4-5 times in one million years, that is, on average, every 200-250 thousand years. At the same time, the closest change to us occurred about 780 thousand years ago.
This delay is cause for concern. Maybe the pole reversal is about to happen. According to Pavlov, today no one can give an unambiguous forecast, since the behavior of the poles is difficult to predict. It cannot be said that the inversion is clearly overdue and is about to "shoot".
Reversals of the Earth's magnetic field many years ago could be the cause of mass extinctions
At the same time, there are worrying trends. It is known that during the periods of reversals, the intensity of the Earth's magnetic field fell 8-10 times below the norm. And now it is steadily falling, over the past 150 years, by about 10 percent. This gives reason to think, or maybe the inversion is really coming. But there are opponents of the fact that we are on the verge of the next inversion. They agree that now the tension is rapidly falling, but earlier there was an increase, that is, the process is cyclical. So, apparently, there is no need to worry. In short, today science does not have enough data to predict when the next inversion will occur. But what are the reasons for this unusual phenomenon?
The shift of the poles is connected with the processes that take place in the bowels of the planet, says Pavlov. - As you know, the Earth has a solid inner core and an outer one, consisting of liquid metals. Their movement creates electricity, and it in turn generates the magnetic field of the planet. How the pole inversion occurs in this system is not yet completely clear to science. Therefore, it is difficult to make any predictions about the timing of inversions. One thing is for sure: nothing bad will happen in the near future. After all, polarity reversal is a very long-playing process, lasting several thousand years. So we are with you, and our children, and grandchildren are unlikely to feel it.
But what can posterity expect? Will not universal catastrophes fall upon them along with the inversion of the poles? Scientists note that although the Earth has experienced many inversions, they have not been noted for any noticeable catastrophic consequences on the planet. And in the biosphere, no mass extinctions have been identified that would have left their mark on history.
Of course, today the situation is somewhat different. After all, man has created a powerful technosphere, extremely sensitive to various natural disasters. Therefore, in case of pole inversion, the collapse of electrical systems with all the ensuing troubles for many technical systems is not at all ruled out. In addition, the weakening of the magnetic field, which protects the planet from solar radiation, can still significantly affect humanity. But by then, science will surely create effective methods protection.
Help "RG"
On June 1, 1831, the English scientist James Ross discovered the magnetic pole of the Northern Hemisphere in the Canadian archipelago. Here the magnetic needle occupies a vertical position, that is, the magnetic inclination is 90 degrees. In 2005, an employee of the Canadian Ministry natural resources Larry Newit stated that the north magnetic pole of the Earth, approximately from early XVII centuries, located under the ice in the boundaries of the current Canadian Arctic, went beyond the 200-mile zone of Canada. According to some forecasts, if the current direction and speed is maintained, the pole could reach the coast of Russia by the middle of this century.
Without a magnetic field acting as a kind of "shield", modern technologies exposed to solar storms.
Quite recently, geophysicists reported that in the future another change in the geomagnetic poles of the Earth is possible. A prerequisite for this is the South Atlantic anomaly, stretching between Zimbabwe and Chile. Here is the so-called "dip" in the planet's magnetic field, which makes it weaker by 30% than in other places. It continues to weaken, and this portends a complete reversal of the magnetic poles. How this will affect the entire planet, no one knows for sure. Academicians of the Russian Academy of Sciences build only conjectures and assumptions.
The Earth's magnetic field directs all compass needles to the North, unless, of course, you find yourself in places with any magnetic anomaly. When the south pole becomes north and the north becomes south, this is called a geomagnetic field inversion. Throughout the history of its existence, the Earth has undergone a change in its polarity at least 4-5 times with an interval of about a million years. At the same time, the periods of changing the poles of the globe cannot be predicted, since they are irregular in nature.
A complete change of the geomagnetic poles of the Earth can take from one to several thousand years. On the scale of mankind, this is a rather long period, but by geological standards, this is a “minute” matter. What can happen when the poles change, how much will their change affect our lives?
Without a magnetic field to act as a sort of "shield", modern technology would be at risk from solar storms. Satellites will be the most vulnerable. If GPS stops working, then all modern aircraft will land on the ground. Vessels will face the same problems and will not be able to correctly navigate the ocean. We can no longer communicate mobile phones and use the internet.
When the geomagnetic poles change, the ozone layer of the planet will temporarily disappear. This will increase the incidence of skin cancer several times. But, despite the fact that there will be no magnetic "shield" over the planet, a person will continue to exist without the use of high technology and electricity. Of course, this does not mean that we will plunge into the Middle Ages, but we definitely won’t be able to watch TV. All objects that depend on electricity will cease to function.
The geomagnetic field blocks about 50% of cosmic rays. In its absence, the level of cosmic radiation will only double. This will lead to the development of cellular mutations in plants and animals, but will not lead to their mass extinction. At the same time, serious natural disasters should not be expected. This field is located in the zone of the planet's magnetosphere, which provides only partial protection from the solar wind. Most of the cosmic radiation is absorbed by the Earth's atmosphere.
Man and his ancestors lived on Earth for several million years, during which there were many reversals of the geomagnetic poles. As you can see, we are all still alive and well. According to the conducted geological studies, the time of the reversals does not coincide with the periods of species extinction. It should be noted that animals that use the Earth's geomagnetic field for orientation in space, like whales or migratory birds, will have time to adapt to the changing magnetic environment over the millennia and develop other methods of navigation.
All of the above refers to a "smooth" change of poles. But if the inversion still happens abruptly, and the Earth turns over 180 degrees, then from such a turn all the water will come out on land and flood the whole world. Then we can talk about a serious global catastrophe. But we will hope for a "softer" turn of events.
Our planet has a magnetic field that can be observed, for example, with a compass. It is mainly formed in the very hot molten core of the planet and has probably existed for most of the Earth's lifetime. The field is a dipole, i.e. it has one north and one south magnetic pole. In them, the compass needle will point straight down or up, respectively. It's like a fridge magnet. However, the Earth's geomagnetic field is undergoing many small changes, which renders the analogy invalid. In any case, it can be said that there are currently two poles observed on the surface of the planet: one in the northern hemisphere and one in the southern.
Inversion is the process by which the south magnetic pole turns into the north, and that, in turn, becomes south. It is interesting to note that the magnetic field can sometimes undergo an excursion rather than a reversal. In this case, it undergoes a large reduction in its total strength, that is, the force that moves the compass needle. During the excursion, the field does not change its direction, but is restored with the same polarity, that is, north remains north and south south.
How often does the Earth's poles reverse?
As evidenced by the geological record, the magnetic field of our planet has changed polarity many times. This can be seen from the regularities found in volcanic rocks, especially those extracted from the ocean floor. Over the past 10 million years, on average, there have been 4 or 5 reversals per million years. At other times in our planet's history, such as during the Cretaceous period, there were longer periods of Earth pole reversals. They are impossible to predict and they are not regular. Therefore, we can only talk about the average inversion interval.
Is the Earth's magnetic field currently being reversed? How to check it?
Measurements of the geomagnetic characteristics of our planet have been made more or less continuously since 1840. Some measurements even date back to the 16th century, for example, in Greenwich (London). If you look at the trends in the field for this period, you can see its decline. Projecting the data forward in time gives zero in about 1500-1600 years. This is one of the reasons why some believe that the field may be in the early stages of a reversal. From studies of the magnetization of minerals in ancient clay pots, it is known that at times ancient rome it was twice as strong as it is now.
However, the current field strength is not particularly low in terms of its range over the last 50,000 years, and it has been almost 800,000 years since the Earth's last pole reversal occurred. In addition, taking into account what was said earlier about the excursion, and knowing the properties of mathematical models, it is far from clear whether the observational data can be extrapolated to 1500 years.
How fast does a pole reversal occur?
There is no complete record of the history of at least one reversal, so all the claims that can be made are based mainly on mathematical models and partly on limited evidence from rocks that have preserved the imprint of the ancient magnetic field from the time of their formation. For example, calculations suggest that a complete change of the Earth's poles can take from one to several thousand years. This is fast by geological standards, but slow by the scale of human life.
What happens during a turn? What do we see on the surface of the Earth?
As mentioned above, we have limited geological measurement data on the patterns of field changes during the inversion. Based on supercomputer models, one would expect a much more complex structure on the planet's surface, with more than one south and one north magnetic pole. The earth is awaiting their "journey" from its present position towards and across the equator. The total field strength at any point on the planet can be no more than one tenth of its current value.
Danger to navigation
Without a magnetic shield, modern technology would be more at risk from solar storms. Satellites are the most vulnerable. They are not designed to withstand solar storms in the absence of a magnetic field. So if the GPS satellites stop working, then all the planes will land on the ground.
Of course, airplanes have compasses as a backup, but they will certainly not be accurate during the magnetic pole shift. Thus, even the very possibility of failure of the GPS satellites will be enough to land the planes - otherwise they may lose navigation during the flight.
Ships will face the same problems.
Ozone layer
It is expected that during the reversal the Earth's magnetic field will completely disappear (and reappear after that). Major solar storms during a roll can cause ozone depletion. The number of skin cancer cases will increase by 3 times. The impact on all living things is difficult to predict, but can also be catastrophic.
Reversal of the Earth's magnetic poles: implications for power systems
In one study, massive ones were cited as the likely cause of polar reversal. In another, the culprit of this event will be global warming, and it can be caused by increased activity of the Sun. During the turn, there will be no protection from the magnetic field, and if a solar storm occurs, the situation will worsen even more. Life on our planet will not be affected in general, and societies that do not depend on technology will also be in in perfect order. But the Earth of the future will suffer terribly if the roll happens quickly. The electrical grids will stop functioning (they could be taken out of action by a big solar storm, and the inversion will affect much more). In the absence of electricity, there will be no water supply and sewerage, gas stations will stop working, food supplies will stop. The performance will be in question, and they will not be able to influence something. Millions will die and billions will face great hardship. Only those who stock up on food and water in advance will be able to cope with the situation.
The danger of cosmic radiation
Our geomagnetic field is responsible for blocking about 50%, so in its absence, the level will double. Although this will lead to an increase in mutations, this will not have lethal consequences. On the other hand, one of possible causes the pole shift is an increase solar activity. This could lead to an increase in the number of charged particles reaching our planet. In this case, the Earth of the future will be in great danger.
Will life survive on our planet?
Natural disasters, cataclysms are unlikely. The geomagnetic field is located in a region of space called the magnetosphere, shaped by the action of the solar wind. The magnetosphere does not deflect all high-energy particles emitted by the Sun with the solar wind and other sources in the Galaxy. Sometimes our luminary is especially active, for example, when there are many spots on it, and it can send clouds of particles in the direction of the Earth. During such and coronal mass ejections, astronauts in Earth orbit may need extra protection to avoid higher doses of radiation. Therefore, we know that our planet's magnetic field provides only partial, not complete protection from cosmic radiation. In addition, high-energy particles can even be accelerated in the magnetosphere.
On the Earth's surface, the atmosphere acts as an additional protective layer that stops all but the most active solar and galactic radiation. In the absence of a magnetic field, the atmosphere will still absorb most of the radiation. air shell protects us as effectively as a layer of concrete 4 m thick.
Without consequences
Human beings and their ancestors lived on Earth for several million years, during which there were many inversions, and there is no obvious correlation between them and the development of mankind. Similarly, the timing of the reversals does not coincide with the periods of extinction of species, as evidenced by geological history.
Some animals, such as pigeons and whales, use the geomagnetic field to navigate. Assuming that the turn takes several thousand years, that is, many generations of each species, then these animals can adapt well to the changing magnetic environment or develop other methods of navigation.
More technical description
The source of the magnetic field is the Earth's iron-rich liquid outer core. It makes complex movements that are the result of convection of heat deep within the core and the rotation of the planet. The fluid movement is continuous and never stops, even during a turn. It can stop only after the exhaustion of the energy source. Heat is produced in part due to the transformation of a liquid core into a solid core located at the center of the Earth. This process has been going on continuously for billions of years. In the upper part of the core, which is located 3000 km below the surface under the rocky mantle, the liquid can move in a horizontal direction at a speed of tens of kilometers per year. Its movement across existing lines of force produces electric currents, and these, in turn, generate a magnetic field. This process is called advection. In order to balance the growth of the field, and thereby stabilize the so-called. "geodynamo", diffusion is necessary, in which the field "leaks" from the nucleus and is destroyed. Ultimately, the flow of fluid creates a complex pattern of the magnetic field on the Earth's surface with a complex change over time.
Computer calculations
Supercomputer simulations of the geodynamo have demonstrated the complex nature of the field and its behavior over time. The calculations also showed a polarity reversal when the Earth's poles change. In such simulations, the strength of the main dipole is reduced to 10% of its normal value (but not to zero), and the existing poles can travel around the globe in conjunction with other temporary north and south poles.
The solid iron inner core of our planet in these models plays an important role in driving the reversal process. Because of its solid state, it cannot generate a magnetic field by advection, but any field that forms in the liquid of the outer core can diffuse, or propagate, into the inner core. advection during outer core seems to regularly try to invert. But until the field trapped in the inner core first diffuses, the actual reversal of the Earth's magnetic poles will not occur. Essentially, the inner core resists the diffusion of any "new" field, and perhaps only one out of every ten attempts at such a reversal is successful.
Magnetic anomalies
It should be emphasized that, although these results are fascinating in themselves, it is not known whether they can be attributed to the real Earth. However, we have mathematical models of our planet's magnetic field over the past 400 years with early data based on observations by merchant and navy sailors. Their extrapolation to the internal structure of the globe shows the growth with time of the reverse flow regions at the boundary of the core and mantle. At these points, the compass needle is oriented, compared to the surrounding areas, in the opposite direction - in or out of the core. These reverse flow sites in the South Atlantic are primarily responsible for weakening the main field. They are also responsible for a minimum intensity called the Brazilian Magnetic Anomaly, which has its center under South America. In this region, high-energy particles can approach the Earth more closely, causing an increased radiation risk for satellites in low Earth orbit.
Much remains to be done to better understand the properties deep structure our planet. This is a world where pressure and temperature values are similar to the surface of the Sun, and our scientific understanding reaches its limit.
In 1930, Motonori Matsuyama, a Japanese mathematician and physicist, began to study magnetic properties rocks. He looked more closely at the reason why some rocks pointed in one direction while others in another. Matsuyama studied magnetic anomalies and put forward the idea that they were the result of a magnetic reversal.
When geologists took samples from lava flows in Hawaii and elsewhere, they found that some lava samples contained grains with reversed polarity. This means that thousands of years ago the north magnetic pole was where the south magnetic pole is now and vice versa.
Determining the age of lavas is possible due to the use of a method based on the measurement of 40K/40Ar. By using a combination of radiometric dating and magnetic field polarity measurements in layers of ancient lava eruptions, geologists have been able to record the mean between magnetic field reversals. They found that, on average, the magnetic poles flip about every 200,000 years. On a geologic time scale, the reversal occurred overnight, but in reality the field reversals occur gradually over a period of between 300 and 1000 years.
The magnetic field hopping begins with an inversion of some region of liquid flow deep in the Earth's core. As this area grows larger and becomes more polar, opposing currents cause it to rise and begin to affect magnetic fluxes in earth's crust and atmosphere. When this happens, areas of the external magnetic field begin to weaken. The lower countercurrents balance the excitations above.
Weakened areas in a magnetic field are called anomalies. The magnetic anomaly can be high or low, almost round, similar to ridges, valleys, or oval, if you study the magnetic topographic map. The range of magnetic intensity values above a magnetic anomaly or area is called magnetic relief.
The South Atlantic Anomaly is one of these weakened regions. In this area, the magnetic field is 30% weaker compared to other areas of the planet, and this area is growing. Geologists who have been studying magnetic field reversals over the past 10 years have used supercomputer programs along with analyzing thousands of lava samples and compass readings from British Navy officers' logbooks over the past 300 years. The result was an excellent method for predicting magnetic reversals.
These studies have revealed that the Earth is long overdue for a magnetic reversal. The last significant inversion occurred over 700 thousand years ago. Knowing this, geologists now assume that the South Atlantic Anomaly is the beginning of a reversal of the magnetic poles. If a this model is true, then the jump will not occur during our lifetime, but sometime in the next 1000 years.
The magnetic polarity can be negligible or significant. Impact of magnetic reversals on tectonics and environment unknown. Scientists are only now beginning to study the effects of planetary magnetic reversals.
Periods of mostly normal polarity, like the one we have today, or periods of mostly reverse polarity are called magnetic epochs or chrons. The Matsuyama Epoch, an important magnetic reversal around 0.5 to 2.5 Ma, is named after Motonori Matsuyama.
As lavas from many magnetic epochs accumulate on top of each other, they gradually form layers of opposite magnetic polarity.
Igneous rocks provide geologists with many clues to the wild and crazy actions of ancient and modern magmas as they exploded or slowly made their way to the Earth's surface in different magnetic fields.
A lot of anxiety among scientists is caused by the shift of the magnetic pole of our planet. The magnetic pole moves from North America towards Siberia at such a speed that Alaska in the next 50 years may lose the Northern Lights. At the same time, it will be possible to see the Northern Lights in some areas and Europe.
The Earth's magnetic poles are part of its magnetic field, which is created by the planetary core, which is made of molten iron. Scientists have known for a long time that these poles move and, in rare cases, are swapped. But the exact causes of the phenomenon are still a mystery.
The movement of the magnetic pole may be the result of a process of oscillation, and eventually the pole will move back towards Canada. This is one of the points of view. Previous studies have shown that over the past 150 years, the strength of the Earth's magnetic field has decreased by 10 percent. During this period, the north magnetic pole has moved 685 miles in the Arctic. Over the past century, the speed of movement of the magnetic poles has increased compared to the previous four centuries.
The north magnetic pole was first discovered in 1831. In 1904, when scientists took measurements a second time, it was found that the pole had moved 31 miles. The compass needle points to the magnetic pole, not the geographic one. The study showed that over the past thousand years, the magnetic pole has moved over considerable distances in the direction from Canada to Siberia, but sometimes in other directions.
The north magnetic pole of the Earth does not sit still. However, like the south. The northern one “wandered” across Arctic Canada for a long time, but since the 70s of the last century, its movement has acquired a clear direction. With a growing speed, now reaching 46 km per year, the pole rushed almost in a straight line into the Russian Arctic. According to the forecast of the Canadian Geomagnetic Service, by 2050 it will be in the area of the Severnaya Zemlya archipelago.
Based on these data, the staff of the Institute of Geosphere Dynamics modeled the global restructuring and dynamics of the Earth's upper atmosphere. Physicists have been able to establish a very important fact- The movement of the North magnetic pole affects the state of the Earth's atmosphere. Pole shift can cause serious consequences. This is confirmed by a comparison of the calculated data with observational data for the last 100 years.
Following the Earth's neutral atmosphere at an altitude of 100 to 1000 kilometers, the ionosphere filled with charged particles extends. Charged particles move horizontally across the entire sphere, penetrating it with currents. But the intensity of the currents is not the same. From the layers lying above the ionosphere - namely, from the plasmasphere and the magnetosphere - there is a constant precipitation (as physicists say) of charged particles. This happens unevenly, and in the area of the upper boundary of the ionosphere, in shape resembling an oval. There are two of these ovals, they cover the North and South magnetic poles of the Earth. And it is here, where the concentration of charged particles is especially high, that the strongest currents in the ionosphere flow, measured in hundreds of kiloamperes.
Along with the movement of the magnetic pole, this oval also moves. Calculations by physicists have shown that with a shifted north magnetic pole, the most powerful currents will flow over Eastern Siberia. And during magnetic storms, they will shift to almost 40 degrees north latitude. In the evenings, the concentration of electrons over the south of Eastern Siberia will be an order of magnitude higher than the current one.
From school course In physics, we know that electric current heats the conductor through which it flows. AT this case the movement of charges will heat the ionosphere. Particles will penetrate into the neutral atmosphere, this will affect the wind system at an altitude of 200-400 km, and hence the climate as a whole. The shift of the magnetic pole will also affect the operation of the equipment. For example, in the middle latitudes during the summer months it will not be possible to use shortwave radio communications. The work of satellite navigation systems will also be disrupted, since they use ionospheric models that will not be applicable in the new conditions. Geophysicists also warn that the approach of the north magnetic pole will increase the induced induced currents in Russian power lines and power grids.
However, all this may not happen. The north magnetic pole can change direction or stop at any moment, and this cannot be foreseen. And for the South Pole, there is no forecast for 2050 at all. Until 1986, he moved very cheerfully, but then his speed dropped.
Another threat looms over humanity - the change of the Earth's magnetic poles. Although the problem is not new, magnetic pole shifts have been recorded since 1885. The earth changes poles with a break of about a million years. Over 160 million years, the displacement occurred about 100 times. It is believed that the last such cataclysm occurred 780 thousand years ago.
The behavior of the Earth's magnetic field is explained by the flow of liquid metals - iron and nickel - at the boundary of the earth's core with the mantle. Although the exact reasons for the reversal of the magnetic poles still remain a mystery, geophysicists warn that this phenomenon can bring death to all life on our planet. If, as stated in some hypotheses, during the polarity reversal, the Earth's magnetosphere disappears for some time, a stream of cosmic rays will fall on the Earth, which can pose a real danger to the inhabitants of the planet. By the way, the Flood, the disappearance of Atlantis, the death of dinosaurs and mammoths are associated with the pole shift in the past.
The magnetic field plays a very important role in the life of the planet: on the one hand, it protects the planet from the flow of charged particles flying from the Sun and from the depths of space, and on the other hand, it serves as a kind of road sign for annually migrating living beings. The exact scenario of what will happen if this field disappears is not known. It can be assumed that the change of poles can result in accidents on high-voltage lines, failures in the operation of satellites, and problems for astronauts. The reversal of polarity will lead to a significant expansion of the ozone holes, and the northern lights will appear over the equator. In addition, the "natural compass" of migrating fish and animals can fail.
The research of scientists concerning the issue of magnetic inversions in the history of our planet is based on the study of grains of ferromagnetic materials that retain magnetization for millions of years, starting from the moment when the rock ceased to be fiery lava. After all, the magnetic field is the only field known in physics that has a memory: at the moment when the rock cooled below the Curie point - the temperature of gaining magnetic order, it became magnetized under the influence of the Earth's field and forever imprinted its configuration at that moment.
Scientists came to the conclusion that rocks are able to retain the memory of magnetic emanations (outflows) that accompany any event in the life of the planet. Such an essentially elementary approach makes it possible to draw a conclusion, very important for the earth's civilization, about the consequences of the expected reversal of the geomagnetic field. The studies of paleomagnetologists made it possible to trace the history of changes in the Earth's field over 3.5 billion years and build a kind of reversal calendar. It shows that they occur quite regularly, 3-8 times in a million years, but the last one happened on Earth already 780 thousand years ago, and such a deep delay with the next event is very alarming.
You probably think that this is just an unsubstantiated hypothesis? But how not to notice the fleeting reversal of the Earth's magnetic field? The subsolar side of the magnetosphere, which is restrained by the ropes of magnetic field lines frozen into the proton-electron near-Earth plasma, will lose its former elasticity, and a stream of deadly solar and galactic radiation will rush to the Earth. This is something that cannot be overlooked.
Let's turn to the facts.
And the facts show that throughout the history of the Earth, the geomagnetic field has repeatedly changed its polarity. There were periods when reversals occurred several times in a million years, and there were periods of long calm when the magnetic field retained its polarity for tens of millions of years. According to the results of research by scientists, the frequency of inversions in Jurassic period and on average the Cambrian was one inversion for 200-250 thousand years. However, the last inversion took place on the planet 780 thousand years ago. From this we can make a cautious conclusion that another inversion should occur in the near future. Several considerations lead to this conclusion. Paleomagnetism data indicate that the time during which the Earth's magnetic poles change places in the process of inversion is not very long. The lower estimate is one hundred years, the upper one is eight thousand years.
An obligatory sign of the beginning of an inversion is a decrease in the intensity of the geomagnetic field, which decreases tenfold compared to the norm. Moreover, its tension can drop to zero, and this state can last for quite a long time, decades, if not more. Another sign of inversion is a change in the configuration of the geomagnetic field, which becomes sharply different from the dipole one. Are there any of these signs now? It looks like yes. The behavior of the Earth's magnetic field in relatively recent times is helped by data from archeomagnetic studies. Their subject is the residual magnetization of shards of ancient ceramic vessels: magnetite particles in fired clay fix the magnetic field at the moment of ceramic cooling.
These data indicate that the intensity of the geomagnetic field has been decreasing for the last 2.5 thousand years. At the same time, observations of the geomagnetic field on the world network of observatories indicate an acceleration in the fall of its strength in recent decades.
Another interesting fact- change in the speed of movement of the Earth's magnetic pole. Its movement reflects the processes in the outer core of the planet and in the near-Earth outer space. However, if magnetic storms in the Earth's magnetosphere and ionosphere cause only relatively small jumps in the position of the pole, then deep factors are responsible for its slow but constant displacement.
Since its discovery by D. Ross in 1931, the North Magnetic Pole has been moving northwestward at a rate of 10 km per year for half a century. However, in the 1980s, the displacement rate increased several times, reaching beginning of XXI centuries of absolute maximum - about 40 km/year: by the middle of the current century it may leave Canada and end up off the coast of Siberia. A sharp increase in the speed of the magnetic pole movement reflects the restructuring of the system of current flows in the outer core, which is believed to create a geomagnetic field.
As you know, to prove a scientific position, thousands of facts are needed, and to refute, one is enough. The above arguments in favor of the inversion only suggested the possibility of the coming doomsday. The strongest indication that the inversion has already begun is the results of recent observations from the Oersted and Magsat satellites of the European Space Agency.
Their interpretation showed that the magnetic field lines on the outer core of the Earth in the South Atlantic region are located in the opposite direction to what should be in the normal state of the field. But the most interesting thing is that the field line anomalies are very similar to the data computer simulation the geomagnetic reversal process performed by Californian scientists Harry Glatzmyer and Paul Roberts, who created the most popular model of terrestrial magnetism today.
So, here are four facts that indicate an approaching or already begun reversal of the geomagnetic field:
1. Reduction over the past 2.5 thousand years of the intensity of the geomagnetic field;
2. Acceleration of the drop in field strength in recent decades;
3. Sharp acceleration of the displacement of the magnetic pole;
4. Features of the distribution of magnetic field lines, which becomes similar to the picture corresponding to the stage of preparation of the inversion.
There is an extensive discussion about the possible consequences of a reversal of the geomagnetic poles. There are various points of view - from quite optimistic to extremely disturbing. Optimists refer to the fact that in geological history The Earth has experienced hundreds of inversions, but it has not been possible to establish a connection between mass extinctions and natural disasters with these events. In addition, the biosphere has considerable adaptive capacity, and the inversion process can take quite a long time, so there is more than enough time to prepare for change.
The opposite point of view does not exclude the possibility that the inversion may occur during the lifetime of the next generations and turn out to be a catastrophe for human civilization. It must be said that this point of view is largely compromised. a large number unscientific and simply anti-scientific statements. As an example, one can cite the opinion that during the inversion, human brains will experience a reboot, similar to what happens with computers, and the information contained in them will be completely erased. Despite such statements, the optimistic point of view is very superficial.
The modern world is far from being what it was hundreds of thousands of years ago: man has created many problems that have made this world fragile, easily vulnerable and extremely unstable. There is reason to believe that the consequences of the inversion will indeed be truly catastrophic for world civilization. And the complete loss of the functionality of the World Wide Web due to the destruction of radio communication systems (and it will certainly come at the time of the loss of radiation belts) is just one example of a global catastrophe. In fact, with the coming reversal of the geomagnetic field, we must experience the transition to a new space.
An interesting aspect of the impact of geomagnetic inversion on our planet, associated with a change in the configuration of the magnetosphere, is considered in his recent works by Professor V.P. Shcherbakov from the Borok Geophysical Observatory. In the normal state, due to the fact that the axis of the geomagnetic dipole is oriented approximately along the axis of rotation of the Earth, the magnetosphere serves as an effective screen for high-energy fluxes of charged particles moving from the Sun.
In the case of an inversion, it is quite probable that a funnel is formed in the frontal subsolar part of the magnetosphere in the region of low latitudes, through which the solar plasma can reach the Earth's surface. Due to the rotation of the Earth in each specific place of low and partly temperate latitudes, this situation will be repeated every day for several hours. That is, a significant part of the planet's surface every 24 hours will experience a strong radiation shock.
Thus, there are good enough reasons to pay close attention to the soon-to-be-expected (and already gaining momentum) inversion and what dangers it can bring to humanity and each of its individual representatives - and in the future to develop a protection system that reduces their negative consequences.
