- The Earth’s magnetic poles are in constant motion, but they have not moved far enough to actually overturn in the modern era.
- Researchers know that the Earth’s poles have overturned in the past, but opinions have been divided on the effects that such an event could have on the planet and its inhabitants.
- Now, new research suggests that a magnetic pole overturned about 42,000 years ago brought with it some dramatic changes and could have changed the course of human history.
Disaster movies have shown us what Hollywood thinks could happen if the Earth’s poles were suddenly overturned, but the reality of the situation would probably be very different. We’re not sure how everyday life would be affected if our planet’s magnetic poles suddenly became, but scientists are constantly looking for evidence of past polar movements to get a better idea of what to expect.
A new study published in Science gives us some useful information thanks to an extremely old tree. The tree, which was still growing when the most recent flip of the magnetic pole occurred about 42,000 years ago, suggests dramatic and possibly catastrophic changes that have taken place in the atmosphere and on the surface of our planet.
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As Pr reports, scientists were able to use a tree, which has long been dead but well preserved, to better understand a massive stretch of Earth’s history. By studying the rings of the tree, the scientists obtained a detailed record of about 1,700 years. This tree was just alive during the most recent flip of the magnetic pole and an analysis of the rings suggests that it was a difficult time for anything living on Earth.
The team specifically looked for a carbon signature in the shaft rings. The type of carbon that scientists were looking for is created when cosmic rays are able to hit the Earth’s atmosphere. When the Earth’s magnetic field is as strong as it is today, the amount of carbon generated by this interaction is relatively low, but increases when the magnetic field weakens and allows more cosmic rays to pass through.
Researchers have been able to find a special richness of this type of carbon in the rings of the tree that would have been produced during the polar upheaval, suggesting that such an event is directly related to a dramatic change in the Earth’s magnetic field.
“This record shows a substantial increase in the carbon-14 content of the atmosphere, culminating in the period of weakening of the intensity of the magnetic field preceding the polarity switch”, Science explain. “The authors modeled the consequences of this event and concluded that the minimum geomagnetic field caused substantial changes in atmospheric ozone concentration that led to global synchronous climate change and environmental change.”
Researchers believe that this event would have bathed the Earth in ultraviolet radiation as a result of the weakened magnetic field and the damage of the ozone layer that would have followed. Maybe it even triggered the extinction of many species. We still don’t know how or when to flip the magnetic poles, but whenever it happens again, we might have problems.
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Mike Wehner has reported on technology and video games over the past decade, covering breaking news and trends in VR, portable devices, smartphones and future technology. Most recently, Mike served as technical editor at The Daily Dot and was featured in USA Today, Time.com and countless other internet outlets and printmakers. His love of reporting is second only to gambling addiction.