The Earth has a moderately strong magnetic field, which is generated by superheated liquid iron that makes up the outer core of our planet. The magnetic field is vital to life as it shields the Earth’s ozone layer from solar winds, cosmic rays, and harmful ultraviolet radiation.
The Earth’s magnetic field is weakening, the European Space Agency (ESA) said in a statement, citing data from its Swarm mission, a constellation of satellites that was launched in 2013. According to the ESA, over the last 200 years, the Earth’s magnetic has field has lost 9 percent of its strength.
In 1958, scientists discovered the South Atlantic Anomaly, an area that sits between Africa and South America where the magnetic field has been weakening considerably. According to the ESA’s latest study, this area has grown and moved westward at a pace of around 12 miles (20 km) per year and scientists cannot explain why.
Moreover, according to data provided by the Swarm mission, which studies our planet’s magnetic field, a second area with less strength has emerged in South Africa, which the ESA says could be a sign that the South Atlantic Anomaly "could split up into two separate cells".
"The new, eastern minimum of the South Atlantic Anomaly has appeared over the last decade and in recent years is developing vigorously", said Jürgen Matzka, from the German Research Centre for Geosciences. "We are very lucky to have the Swarm satellites in orbit to investigate the development of the South Atlantic Anomaly. The challenge now is to understand the processes in Earth’s core driving these changes", Matzka said
The space agency said one hypothesis that may explain the magnetic field’s bizarre behaviour is a reversal of the North and South Poles, a process during which the poles switch places. It has occurred many times throughout the planet’s history and the ESA says "we are long overdue by the average rate of roughly 250,000 years".
The ESA said that at the moment, the weakening of the magnetic field, which protects our planet from cosmic radiation and charged particles emitted by the Sun, poses no risk for humans. However, satellites and spacecraft that fly through an area with reduced field strength are more likely to experience technical malfunctions.
The effects!
An imminent polar reversal on planet Earth - a North and South Pole switch - and thus a weakening of the planet’s magnetic field in parts of the globe would definitely bring about at least some changes to how Earth would be protected from harmful ultraviolet radiation, as well as space winds,
News18 reported, citing scientists.
Satellites are feared to be rendered non-operational, which would automatically mean massive disruptions to global communication systems, including telecom networks and Internet connection. Scientists say spacecraft flying through an area with a depleted magnetic force, as the North Pole and South Pole are set to swap places, are more likely to experience technical issues.
According to Mike Hapgood, a scientist who focused on geomagnetic storms and conducted a study on the solar storm of 1921, a powerful geomagnetic event would disrupt most technological innovations that people widely exploit nowadays.
"This could include regional power outages, profound changes to satellite orbits, and loss of radio-based technologies such as GPS", he said in a statement, as per SpaceWeather.com .
"The disruption of GPS could significantly impact logistics and emergency services”, he went on.
Although magnetic field reversals don’t usually happen overnight, concerns have mounted over how the main consequences could be avoided, or at least, promptly fixed.
In a recent statement, the ESA warned about the weakening of Earth’s vital magnetic field, generated by superheated liquid iron hundreds of kilometres beneath the planetary surface. According to the ESA, over the last 200 years, the Earth’s magnetic field has lost 9 percent of its strength.
In 1958, scientists discovered the South Atlantic Anomaly, an area that sits between Africa and South America where the magnetic field has been weakening the most. According to the ESA’s latest study, this area has expanded and moved westward at a speed of around 12 miles (20 km) per year.
One theory that may explain the magnetic field’s bizarre behaviour is a reversal of the North and South Poles, a process during which the poles switch places. It has occurred many times throughout history - roughly every 250,000 years - and the ESA says that now "we are long overdue”. However, it assures, these events hardly pose any direct danger to humanity, except the aforementioned technical malfunctions.
