Geomagnetic reversal
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A geomagnetic reversal is a change in the orientation of Earth's magnetic field such that the positions of magnetic north and magnetic south become interchanged. These events, which typically last a few hundred to a few thousands years, often involve an extended decline in field strength followed by a rapid recovery after the new orientation has been established.
Over very long periods, geomagnetic reversals seems to have occurred with a frequency of 1 to 5 events per million years; however, this duration is highly variable. During some periods of geologic time (e.g. Cretaceous long normal), the Earth's magnetic field is observed to maintain a single orientation for tens of millions of years. Other events seem to have occurred very rapidly, with more than one reversal in 50,000 years. The last reversal was the Brunhes-Matuyama reversal approximately 780,000 years ago.
Causal mechanisms
Scientific opinion is divided on what causes geomagnetic reversals. Many scientists believe that reversals are an inherent aspect of the dynamo theory of how the geomagnetic field is generated. In computer simulations, it is observed that magnetic field lines can sometimes become tangled and disorganized through the chaotic motions of liquid metal in the Earth's core. In some simulations, this leads to an instability in which the magnetic field spontaneously flips over into the opposite orientation. This scenario is supported by observations of the solar magnetic field, which undergoes spontaneous reversals every 7-15 years (see: solar cycle). However, with the sun it is observed that the solar magnetic intensity greatly increases during a reversal, whereas all reversals on Earth seem to occur during periods of low field strength. Also, present computational methods have been forced to make very strong simplifications in order to produce models that run to completion on time scales acceptable for research endeavors.
A minority opinion, held by such figures as Richard A. Muller, is that geomagnetic reversals are not spontaneous processes but rather triggered by external events which directly disrupt the flow in the Earth's core. Such processes may include the arrival of continental slabs carried down into the mantle by the action of plate tectonics at subduction zones, the initiation of new mantle plumes from the core-mantle boundary, and possibly mantle-core shear forces resulting from very large impact events. Supporters of this theory hold that any of these events could lead to a large scale disruption of the dynamo, effectively turning off the geomagnetic field. Since the field is stable in either the present North-South orientation or a reversed orientation, they propose that when the field recovers from such a disruption it spontaneously chooses one or the other state, such that a recovery is seen as a reversal in about half of all cases. Brief disruptions which do not result in reversal are also known and are called geomagnetic excursions.
Observing past fields
Past field reversals are recorded in the "frozen" magnetic domains of solidified lava that welled up along spreading mid-ocean ridges. Since the sea floor spreads at a fairly constant rate, this results in broad "stripes" from which the past magnetic field direction can be easily read by simply pulling a magnetometer along the sea floor. However, since no existing sea floor is much older than 250 Myr in age, other methods are necessary for detecting older reversals. Most sedimentary rocks incorporate tiny amounts of iron rich minerals, whose orientation is influenced by the ambient magnetic field at the time at which they formed. Under good conditions, it is thus possible to extract information of the variations in magnetic field from many kinds of sedmentary rocks. However, subsequent diagenesis may erase evidence of the original field.
Because the magnetic field is a global process, finding similar patterns of magnetic variations at different sites is one method used to correlate age across different locations. Because reversals may occur several times per million years, geomagnetic dating can allow for the determination of more precise relative ages than radiometric dating, which often have an error of several percent at an age of greater than 100 Myr.
Future of the present field
At present, the overall geomagnetic field is becoming weaker at a rate which would, if it continues, cause the dipole field to temporarily collapse by 3000-4000 AD. (See: 1). The South Atlantic Anomaly is believed by some to be a product of this. The present strong deterioration corresponds to a 10-15% decline over the last 150 years and has accelerated in the past several years; however, geomagnetic intensity has declined almost continuously from a maximum 35% above the modern value achieved approximately 2000 years ago. The rate of decrease and the current strength are within the normal range of variation, as shown by the record of past magnetic fields recorded in rocks.
One should note that no one knows if field decay will continue in the future. Since a magnetic field reversal has never been observed by humans and the mechanism of field generation is not well understood, it is difficult to say what the characteristics of the magnetic field might be leading up to such a reversal. Some speculate that a greatly diminished magnetic field during a reversal period will expose the surface of the earth to a substantial and potentially damaging increase in cosmic radiation. However, Homo erectus and their ancestors certainly survived many previous reversals. There is no uncontested evidence that a magnetic field reversal has ever caused any biological extinctions. A possible explanation is that the solar wind may induce a sufficient magnetic field in the Earth's ionosphere to shield energetic particles even in the absence of the Earth's normal magnetic field [link].
The Earth's magnetic north pole is drifting from northern Canada towards Siberia with a presently accelerating rate [link]. It is also unknown if this drift will continue to accelerate.
Although the inspection of past reversals does not indicate biological extinctions, present society with its reliance of electricity and electromagnetic effects (e.g. radio, satellite communications) may be vulnerable to technological diruptions in the event of a full field reversal.
Glatzmaier and collaborator Paul Roberts of UCLA have made a numerical model of the electromagnetic, fluid dynamical processes of Earth's interior, and computed it on a Cray supercomputer. The results reproduced key features of the magnetic field over more than 40,000 years of simulated time. To top it off, the computer-generated field reversed itself.[link]
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