Evidence of second fast north-south pole flip found
September 6, 2010 by Lin Edwards
This wide angle view of the Earth is centered on the Atlantic Ocean between South America and Africa.
(PhysOrg.com) -- The Earth's magnetic poles flip around every 200,000 years or so, with north becoming south and vice versa. Normally, the process takes 4-5,000 years and it ought to be impossible for the flip to be much faster, if models of the Earth's core are correct, but now for the second time evidence has been found of a flip that appears to have taken only a few years.
The first time evidence was discovered of a rapid geomagnetic field reversal was in 1995 when well-preserved lava flows were found at Steens Mountain in Oregon in the US. Research on the rocks by a team led by geologist Scott Bogue of the Occidental College in Los Angeles revealed the lava flow had an unusual magnetic pattern that suggested the magnetic field had been shifting over 10,000 times faster than normal, at six degrees a day. The magnetic patterns are preserved within the magnetic crystals in the lava, formed as the lava flow cooled.
The first findings remained controversial and many scientists have challenged the fast flip-flop theory, but now Bogue and colleague Jonathan Glen of the US Geological Survey have found evidence in ancient lava rock in Battle Mountain, Nevada of a second fast flip, dated around 15 million years ago.
The record in one particular lava flow in Nevada suggests the magnetic field moved by 53 degrees in a single year. The lava started to cool, but was then heated again within a year as it was buried under fresh lava. The crystals in the rock were re-magnetized by the fresh lava, producing a shift of 53 degrees. This finding could mean the poles swapped over a period of only four years, but Brogue said it could also suggest there was a rapid acceleration period within the steady movement of the field.
According to some geologists a polarity reversal is overdue, since the Earth’s magnetic field has been weakening for the last century, and the last stable reversal was about 780,000 years ago. Even if it was a super-fast flip-flop, however, it would not be noticeable to most people. No one is certain why such reversals take place, although many scientists believe they are connected in some way with the convective movements of the liquid iron in the Earth’s outer core.
The findings are due to appear in Geophysical Research Letters.
More information: Bogue, S. W et al., Very rapid geomagnetic field change recorded by the partial remagnetization of a lava flow, Geophysical Research Letters, doi:10.1029/2010GL044286 , in press.
© 2010 PhysOrg.com
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Sep 06, 2010
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Sep 06, 2010
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Has anything changed ?
Sep 06, 2010
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Sep 06, 2010
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Sep 06, 2010
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Compasses will still work but may need frequent compensation for the current declination.
Animals that rely on the magnetic field for navigation and migration will be in big trouble, some species may go extinct.
If the field weakens during the flip it will stop protecting us from solar particles and could knock out ALL our satellites.
There has been speculation that a pole flip could cause the Earth's crust to slip and spin around the core causing massive destruction, floods, super storms, etc. I hope that one is bogus.
It has been speculated that the pole flip might be the mechanism for the 2012 doomsday. Also bogus I hope.
Sep 06, 2010
Rank: 4 / 5 (7)
Anything that relies on magnetic properties:
- Compasses wouldn't work for some time,
- bees and birds (and any other species that relies partially on a magnetic field) would be without (or at least diminished) orientation
- radiation levels would be quite a bit elevated (because the magnetic field shields us from beta and alpha particles from the sun)...this could push radiation levels for aviation into an unsafe zone.
- electronic gadgets (like everything that uses memory chips) would experience increased system failure from increased radiation events.
...
Sep 06, 2010
Rank: 1 / 5 (3)
McElhinny, M.W., & Merrill, R.Y. The Earth’s magnetic field (Academic, London), 183.
Roach, John. (2004, September 27). Why does Earth’s Magnetic field flip? National
Geographic News.
Tsygankov, S.S. (2006). On The Possible mechanism of geomagnetic field inversion.
Doklady Physics, 51, 7, 393-396.
Sep 06, 2010
Rank: 1 / 5 (3)
Cussler, Clive. (1999, December 6). Atlantis Found. (534p.) Florida: G.P. Putnam’s Sons.
Jacobs, J.A. (1995) The Earth’s Magnetic field. Contemporary Physics, 36, 4, 267-277.
Sep 06, 2010
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III. Magnetic North heads south, and – over about 1,000 years- the field does a complete flip-flop.
Sep 06, 2010
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III. Magnetic North heads south, and – over about 1,000 years- the field does a complete flip-flop.
Sep 06, 2010
Rank: 3.2 / 5 (6)
I. The magnetic fiel waxes and wanes, poles drift and, occaisionally, flip.
I. Every so often, our planet’s magnetic poles reverse polarity.
I. Reversals happen on average only about once every 250,000 years, and they take hundreds if not thousands of years to complete.
I. Reversals take a few thousand years to complete, and during that time- contrary to popular belief- the magnetic field does not vanish.
I. Earth’s magnetic field reverses every few thousand years at low latitudes and every 10,000 years at high latitudes, a geologist funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) has concluded.
I. Each published polarity transition reported a slightly different duration, from just under 1,000 years to 28,000 years.
Sep 06, 2010
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Sep 07, 2010
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Sep 07, 2010
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Sep 07, 2010
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Great to see the 2012 bullshit is still on track. Anyone actually ever read the facts on that story? The Mayan calendars do not end in 2012. They can actually go on for as long as needed, there is no limitation whatsoever.
There is NO planetary alignment in 2012. There is NO galactic plane alignment in 2012, and IF there would be, YOU would't need to care, because NOTHING would happen.
The 21 December 2012 date is nothing more than the first day in a new b'ak'tun cycle, which always consisted a reason for celebration for the Maya, and perhaps at best the celebration of the date of their current creation cycle, but there is no end of the world notion or even the notion of great transformation associated with it anywhere in Mayan writings.
Stop believing made-up crap, grow up, and start reading and educating yourselves.
Sep 07, 2010
Rank: 1.4 / 5 (5)
I mean, can it be measured to be reducing simultaneously at the same rate and direction all over the earth and will it be expected to reduce to zero at the time of reversal?
Why should it be reducing[to zero] in order to reverse in the first place?
If it takes so long to reverse, surely it's going to be a lonnnngg, longgggg time for it to get to zero and then get up from zero again? In other words, it'll be at zero for a considerable amount of time.
Long enough that considerable damage will occur to whatever needs protection from cosmic rays etc.
Maybe it's a good thing most of us won't be here to experience that time of reversal, then.
I like this admission. It simply means anyone can take an educated guess as to why it happens. Sound to me like it's associated with catastrophic events like earthquakes and volcano eruptions which ARE related to earth changes.
Sep 07, 2010
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Sep 11, 2010
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Sep 11, 2010
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Sep 12, 2010
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Sep 12, 2010
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Yellowstone National Park, and others like it!
Sep 12, 2010
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Careful about that. Astrology is actually rather complex, it is the mother of all Sciences, Investigative methodology, Astronomy, Logic, reason, religion, mathematics, philosophy, and predictive analysis. And many other things as well.
It would take most people a good 4 years to even begin to understand what astrology is really all about. This is why the 'basics' (like an incorrectly used 2+2=4 in math) don't describe much. As for December 21, 2012, astrology does not put much into that day.
Science and engineering types are not immune to human emotion and how it is deeply part of their existence and thrust into the world. Due to their orientation, they can't take Astrology in, for it invalidates much of what they hold as truths. So it is ridiculed without proper investigation. The fault in man.
Sep 13, 2010
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Sep 13, 2010
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Science without philosophy is called engineering.
Sep 13, 2010
Rank: 1 / 5 (3)
The fact that there may also be astrology involved has no bearing on the gravity idea.
Sep 13, 2010
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No, all the aligned planets together don't gravitationally influence the planet earth.
Sep 13, 2010
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I forgot to mention that I thought it was a stupid idea.
It was the best I could come up with that could possibly relate the date 12/21/2012 with Earth's magnetic field including earthquakes.
Sep 13, 2010
Rank: 5 / 5 (1)
Suggesting such a thing is... well... illogical.
I would recommend the Penn and Teller's Bullsh!t episode on Astrology.
Sep 13, 2010
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1) When the pole transits "ends" does it take a straight path north to south or does it zig-zag and wander around?
2) If the pole is passing close to a volcano like the ones mentioned above wouldn't a relatively small movement be recorded as a large shift in angle?