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What if Earth’s Magnetic Field Flips Again?

Earth's magnetic field - NASA

A reversal in Earth’s magnetic field thousands of years ago plunged the planet into an environmental crisis that may have resembled “a disaster movie,” scientists recently discovered. Our planet’s magnetic field is dynamic and, numerous times, it has flipped — when the magnetic North and South Poles swap places. In our electronics-dependent world, such a reversal could seriously disrupt communication networks. But the impact could be even more serious than that, according to the new study. For the first time, scientists have found evidence that a polar flip could have serious ecological repercussions. Their investigation connects a magnetic field reversal … Read more

SCIENCE: Earth’s Magnetic Poles Flip More Often Than We Thought

Magnetic Poles - pixabay

Hot liquid that churns around Earth’s outer core powers a gigantic magnetic field that’s been hugging our planet since its infancy, protecting it from harmful solar radiation. But this magnetic field is known to get restless — and a couple of times every million years or so, the poles flip, and magnetic south becomes magnetic north and vice versa. Now, a new study suggests that the magnetic poles can flip much more frequently than scientists thought. That’s what seems to have happened around 500 million years ago during the Cambrian period, when Earth’s creatures were undergoing evolutionary growth spurts, transforming … Read more