The Earth's magnetic field may be about to reverse and we still don't know what to do

Earth's magnetic field is an invisible force field that envelops the planet, protecting us from harmful radiation from the Sun by reflecting particles that carry electricity back into space. This magnetic field is constantly changing and in fact, the history of the Earth has about several hundred times 2 poles reversing, the north pole changes to the south pole and vice versa. So what will that affect us?

During the reversal process, the magnetic field is still not slipping to 0, only slightly weakening and forming complex phenomena . Scientists estimate that at that time, the magnetic field will be about 10% weaker than normal and magnetic poles can appear at the equator or even there will be simultaneous existence of many north and south poles. .

The average polarity reversal of Earth's magnetic field takes place several million years each time. However, the polarity period is very unusual and can last for tens of millions of years. At the same time there is a temporary reversal and not completely. Then the magnetic poles will move away from the geographical poles, then they can cross the equator and eventually return to their original positions.

When reversing, the magnetic field will weaken about 10% compared to normal.

The most recent extreme reversal was Brunhes-Matuyama , which took place 780,000 years ago. And the temporary reversal, Laschamp, occurred about 41,000 years ago. It lasts about 1000 years with the actual change of the poles lasting about 250 years.

Will there be a global power outage or mass extinction?

First, the change in the Earth's magnetic field will reduce shielding efficiency , thereby increasing the level of radiation below the Earth's surface. At the same time, the increase in charged particles to the Earth could increase the risk for the operation of satellites, the aviation industry and the underground power infrastructure. Magnetic field storms are also possible until the Earth's magnetic field weakens.

In 2002, a storm named Halloween caused widespread power outages in Sweden, causing flights to change directions to avoid the risk of losing contact and exposure to radiation, while the storm broke down. Satellite system and many other communication systems. However, the impact of a large-scale storm from today's electronic infrastructure is still not accurately estimated.

However, if there is no electricity, no air conditioning, no heating, no GPS, no internet will be a huge impact on human life. If widespread, it could lead to economic losses of tens of billions of dollars or more.

The polarity and prolonged volcanic eruptions may be the same cause.

Regarding the impact of polarity on natural life on Earth, including animals and humans, we cannot predict anything about it now. The reason is because the most recent island reversal, the modern man has not yet appeared. A number of previous studies have linked extreme islands when old with mass extinctions.

The results show that the reversal and prolonged volcanic eruptions may be the same cause. However, there is no evidence that any long-term eruption is likely to happen, so it is possible that people will face polarity if it happens sooner.

What we can know now is that some animals are capable of sensing the Earth's magnetic field. They can use this ability to support long migration journeys. But it is still clear how the impact of polarity on these species. However, the human race has overcome the temporary reversal of Laschamp and life on Earth has survived hundreds of times in polar history.

Can we predict polarity?

There is a simple fact that we are too slow to prepare for a complete reversal and the Earth's magnetic field has decreased by 5% in the last 100 years. Since then it is thought that the magnetic field will island over the next 2000 years. However, when that event takes place, the current level is still unpredictable.

Nearly 2000 years to prepare for the polar magnetic field.

The Earth's magnetic field is made up of a molten iron core and slow to stir inside the Earth. Like the atmosphere and ocean, this core also moves in accordance with physical laws. Therefore, we can predict the behavior of the core by monitoring its movement, similar to observing the atmosphere and the ocean to forecast the weather.

A magnetic field reversal can be compared to an ongoing storm in the Earth's core and the ever-changing magnetic field will be a bit confusing before returning to normal. The difficulty here is that the weather can easily predict a few days because we live right in the air and directly observe it, and the core is not like that. In fact, predicting the behavior of the Earth core, which is 3000 km deep under dozens of layers of rock, is very difficult and can only be carried out indirectly.

However, we are not completely blind: we know the main components of the material inside the core and know that it is liquid. A network of global observatories and Earth-based satellites can measure the magnitude of the magnetic field, allowing us to understand the movement of the core.

Along with the rapid development of predictive models and experiments in fluid dynamics inside the planet, we have confidence that monitoring the behavior of the Earth core , from which we predict The timing of the reversal will be possible, from which an appropriate response can be made. Anyway, there will be another 2,000 years for us to grow.