Earth's Magnetic Field Is Poised to Flip Upside-Down

[n2doc]

It’s not something that’s ever happened in human history so it’s not something we think about too often, but Earth’s magnetic poles flip on a regular basis—at least, a regular basis on a geologic scale. And every time the poles flip, the magnetic field that shields our planet from deadly cosmic rays also flips. The next flip, according to new data collected by the European Space Agency, is coming up sooner than scientists expected.

Earth's magnetic field is rooted deep inside the planet. The solid inner core, which is about two-thirds the size of the Moon, is made primarily of iron and is super-heated to almost 10,300 degrees Fahrenheit. Surrounding this solid core is a thick layer made up of iron, nickel, and small amounts of other metals in a liquid state. Differences in temperature, pressure, and the composition of the outer, liquid core causes convection, and as these metals flow, they generate electric currents that in turn produce magnetic fields. Because the Earth is spinning on its axis, these magnetic fields align to form one giant magnetic field that envelops the planet.

But the polarity of this massive magnetic field isn’t constant. Over the last 20 million years the Earth has settled into a pattern wherein the poles change polarity every 200,000 to 300,000 years; magnetic north becomes south and vice versa. It’s neither a fast nor a clean process. A flip actually takes hundreds of thousands of years, and over the course of that time the magnetic fields tug at one another, with magnetic poles emerging at odd latitudes.

It’s by measuring the variations in the magnetic field that scientists find indications that a polar flip is imminent. ESA’s Swarm mission is a magnetic field mission that uses an array of three satellites to unravel the mysteries of the Earth’s magnetic field.

Recently, big weak spots in the magnetic field more than 370,000 miles above the planet's surface have sprung up over the Western Hemisphere. Meanwhile, the magnetic field has strengthened in other areas, like over the southern Indian Ocean. Scientists behind the Swarm missions aren't entirely sure why the magnetic field is weakening in certain spots, but the likeliest explanation is that the poles are getting ready to flip. So far, it looks like the poles are just starting to migrate a little bit.

more

http://motherboard.vice.com/read/get-ready-for-earths-magnetic-field-to-flip-upside-down?trk_source=popular

[arcane1]

1. Too cool! I expect a thousand Facebook posts attributing nonsense to this event

[kimbutgar]

2. Are you talking about a pole shift?

It would be catastrophic and result in billions of deaths in the world.

[Louisiana1976]

9. Well you know what geologists say: Shift happpens.

[BlueJazz]

13. I'm sorry, Louisiana1976...You're going straight to hell for that.

[muriel_volestrangler]

18. *Magnetic* pole shift

and no, it won't be catastrophic. As the article says, they've happened many times in the past several million years, and there's no sign of extinctions associated with them. A theory says that the solar wind induces a protective layer in the ionosphere during the time the field is flipping:

The Earth is a planet with a dipolar magnetic field which is agitated by a magnetized plasma wind streaming from the Sun. The magnetic field shields the Earth's surface from penetrating high energy solar wind particles, as well as interstellar cosmic rays. The magnetic dipole has reversed sign some hundreds of times over the last 400 million years. These polarity reversals correspond to drastic breakdowns of the dynamo action. The question arises what the consequences for the Earth's atmosphere, climate, and, in particular, biosphere are. It is shown by kinematic estimates and three-dimensional plasma-neutral gas simulations that the solar wind can induce very fast a magnetic field in the previously completely unmagnetized Earth's ionosphere that is strong enough to protect Earth from cosmic radiations comparable to the case of an intact magnetic dynamo.

http://www.aanda.org/articles/aa/abs/2004/23/aagb091/aagb091.html

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

3. Will all the magnets on my refrigerator turn upside down?

Will there be a loud "BOINNNG!" when this happens, and will it cause some weird, massive electrical current, like the whole earth is a gigantic field winding? Will everybody's hair stand on end? Will we get Raptured? Will all the compasses start pointing in the opposite direction?

Or will it be gradual and boring and not especially noticeable?

[jakeXT]

5. We'll see

Still, there is no evidence that a weakened magnetic field would result in a doomsday for Earth. During past polarity flips there were no mass extinctions or evidence of radiation damage. Researchers think power grids and communication systems would be most at risk.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/earths-magnetic-field-is-weakening-10-times-faster/

[DavidDvorkin]

8. Toilet water will swirl in the opposite direction

Except in that other hemisphere, where they will become us.

[jakeXT]

4. I remember hearing that we are overdue

[sue4e3]

6. from the article linked here

we have 2,000 years , from other articles we have anywhere from 250 years to 4,000 for the magnetic north and south to flip either way I don't plan on being here.

[The Blue Flower]

7. 370,000 miles?

I need someone to explain what we're using to measure the magnetic field at a distance of 370,000 miles, well past the orbit of the moon. Could it be a typo?

[Enthusiast]

10. Will this fuck shit up?

Just wondering.

[awoke_in_2003]

11. Navigation systems...

will be seriously inaccurate.

[Duppers]

12. sure would

The magnetic field gives rise to the electric field, soooo a lot of electronics will mess up. How badly depends on the speed of the flip.

[PADemD]

17. Will it affect high-speed trading?

[mindwalker_i]

14. Microwave ovens do the same thing

They apply a magnetic field, then reverse it, reverse again, etc. Water molecules have a magnetic reactivity of about 80, so they flip with the changing magnetic field, causing friction. Iron has a magnetic reactivity of about 4000 which is why putting iron (or steel) in a microwave is discouraged.

so what this all means is that the Earth is a giant, low-frequency microwave and we're all going to be (slowly) cooked by the changing magnetic field.

It'll also make electrons gay.

[n2doc]

15. kick n/t

[Martin Eden]

16. Regular flipping of magenetic poles was a key to proving plate tectonics

The theory of "continental drift" was advocated by Alfred Wegener in the 1920's, but he was scoffed at by most of the scientific community because he provided no mechanism for the movement of continents. After WWII with the advent of technology for mapping the ocean floor, the Mid-Atlantic Ridge was discovered. As magma surged from the ridge it produced new sea floor, widening the Atlantic and moving the Americas and Europe/Africa further apart.

When new sea floor is produced, the rock is magnetized according to the direction of the earth's magnetic poles. When the poles flipped this was recorded in the rock, and when examined it showed stripes like an irregular barcode moving away from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge where new sea floor was being produced. This not only clearly demonstrated the sea floor was moving, it also provided the rate of expansion because of the timeline for polar shifts known by geologists.

[groundloop]

19. Well OBVIOUSLY this is what's causing global climate change, and not human activity

(Is the thingy even needed?)