Earth's Last Magnetic Field Reversal Took a Lot Longer Than Once Thought
%2Favatars%2F6UKotck4r9pz.jpg&w=96&q=75)
%2Fimg%2Fiea%2FNe6N1rJzG5%2Fearth-magnetic-field-main.jpg&w=3840&q=75)
Every few hundred thousand years, the Earth's magnetic fields reverse - north becomes south and vice versa.
Scientists have long been researching the detectable flow of ancient lava in order to gain a better understanding of the mysterious phenomenon.
A team recently investigated these ancient lava flows, showing that Earth's last magnetic-pole flip likely took a lot longer than previously estimated.
RELATED: SCIENTISTS DISCOVER THAT HUMANS CAN SENSE EARTH'S MAGNETIC FIELD
The last reversal
The last magnetic pole reversal took place some 770,000 years ago.
As per Space.com, Scientists know the last pole reversal happened during the Stone Age. They have little knowledge about the duration of this event, including when the next flip is likely to occur.
Earth's magnetic field has flipped several times over the last 2.5 million years, with each flip usually occurring hundreds of thousands of years apart.
Lava flow sequences
In the new study, the researchers used data on flow sequences of lava that erupted around the time of the last reversal to measure the duration of the event.
With this method, they estimated that the reversal occurred over the course of 22,000 years. This is much longer than previous estimates of 1,000 to 10,000 years.
"We found that the last reversal was more complex, and initiated within the Earth's outer core earlier, than previously thought," lead study author Bradley Singer, a professor of geoscience at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said to Space.com.
In 1993, Singer was studying a volcano in Chile. While trying to date the lava, Singer realized that the lava had recorded strange, transitional magnetic-field directions in the lava-flow sequences. All of this, when compared to the date of the lava flows, revealed a history of the magnetic reversal process.
"Such records are indeed extremely rare, and I am one of [the] very few people who date them," Singer told Space.com.
Singer's life work is dedicated to better understanding the timing of magnetic-pole reversal.
SHOW COMMENT (1)
/2023/01/08/image/png/1uxarRWPWEBWUEUijTLto3K3LJoMqJy60me57iMh.png "Transforming future health care technology in the U.S.")
/2022/09/13/image/jpeg/XESipDgzo626YevyD1EBRRN1fWfmMkGrbPgIJuoF.jpg "Disruptive innovation: how the likes of Apple and Microsoft excel")
/2023/05/28/image/jpeg/X1sB2puBpxN1VWCWMDkaa7Uwd2FUAdOP6AxTp8T8.jpg "NGAD: The chosen one - US Air Force commits to sole 6th-generation fighter")
/2022/08/27/image/jpeg/IeFjJbWsXrfA5c11TAP8weCj6j2S9NgsZy25NvHC.jpg "Space cement is here: How it could be used to build houses on Mars and the Moon")
/2023/05/29/image/jpeg/g3qXfk06EeaB5lJxE9bC2rn05nVZniR0idtdl208.jpg "Windows XP activation algorithm is defeated after 21 years")
/2022/08/24/image/jpeg/AeKXo1p1gWH6TLmmFHLgJmaL0myPefpt8yA0QtOt.jpg "A novel membrane desalination approach may provide potable water from seawater")
/2023/06/07/image/jpeg/a26g5czwbmM676TAlvhpmVS5W71Gi9vkz4LO0yMA.jpg "New 621-mile range EV battery charges in six minutes and works in any weather")
/2023/05/31/image/jpeg/cBPsRNE1Kc9USJTb6RvLg98fqY30HyEbhqfnvWg8.jpg "Advancing fusion energy: Researchers achieve record-breaking temperatures in a tokamak")
/2023/05/27/image/jpeg/hUmy6fVQvimxfN8HBZ2IjrGKW1f8AVmrkTi3wPtJ.jpg "Stanford professor says he is 100% sure that aliens are already on Earth")
/img/iea/ZKwJ0pWeGM/untitled-2-3.jpg "A professor uses geometry to solve the toughest logistical problems")