In case you’ve recently heard of the South Atlantic Anomaly, and was wondering if it’s a precursor to the rumored flip of the Earth’s magnetic poles, well, sorry to disappoint your inner drama queen, but probably not:
“Our study provides the first long term analysis of the magnetic field in this region dating back millions of years,” Yael Engbers, lead author of the study, said in a statement. “It reveals that the anomaly in the magnetic field in the South Atlantic is not a one-off, similar anomalies existed eight to 11 million years ago.”
Researchers studied rocks from 34 volcanic eruptions that occurred at Saint Helena between 8 and 11 million years ago. When volcanic rocks cool down, small grains of iron-oxide in them get magnetized, preserving the direction and strength of the Earth’s magnetic field at that time and place.
Earth’s magnetic field lines run from south to north. The geomagnetic records from the rocks show that the magnetic field at Saint Helena has pointed in different directions during past eruptions. This suggests that the magnetic field in this region has been unstable for millions of years.
Earth’s magnetic field changes in strength and direction over time. It is believed that these fluctuations may eventually trigger a reversal of the Earth’s magnetic field. However, given that the magnetic field at the region of the South Atlantic Anomaly has been unstable for several million years, it is not likely associated with any such impending reversal, according to the statement. [Space.com]
Yeah, I had my hopes up, too, but it appears that this is not the big signal we were hoping for.
Oh, you weren’t hoping for it? Terribly sorry. I hope I haven’t upset you.
Much.
(I should write a Fringe Play some day, just to get all this smart-alecky dialogue out of my head. See, my drain-plug is stuck and it’s building up over time … or was it space … or maybe Kentucky …)
