- 3055 - EARTH - magnetic pole shift. The temporary breakdown of Earth's magnetic field 42,000 years ago sparked major climate shifts that led to global environmental change and mass extinctions. The Earth suffered electrical storms, widespread auroras, and cosmic radiation, all triggered by the reversal of Earth's magnetic poles.
- I always thought that my boy scout compass points north. Well it does point that direction but several degrees off true geographic north. The Earth’s spinning axis and magnetic axis are not perfectly aligned. In fact the magnetic axis might flop north to south sometime in the future.. It happened 42,000 years ago. Could happen again?
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- The temporary breakdown of Earth's magnetic field 42,000 years ago sparked major climate shifts that led to global environmental change and mass extinctions on the planet.
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- This dramatic turning point in Earth's history, laced with electrical storms, widespread auroras, and cosmic radiation, was triggered by the reversal of Earth's magnetic poles and resulting changing solar winds.
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- For the first time ever, we have been able to precisely date the timing and environmental impacts of the last magnetic pole switch. These findings were made possible with ancient New Zealand kauri trees, which have been preserved in sediments for over 40,000 years.
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- Using the ancient trees science could measure, and date, the spike in atmospheric radiocarbon levels caused by the collapse of Earth's magnetic field.
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- While scientists already knew the magnetic poles temporarily flipped around 42,000 years ago (known as the 'Laschamps Excursion'), they didn't know exactly how it impacted life on Earth, if at all.
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- The researchers were able to create a detailed timescale of how Earth's atmosphere changed over this time by analyzing rings on the ancient kauri trees. The kauri trees are like the Rosetta Stone, helping scientists tie together records of environmental change in caves, ice cores and peat bogs around the world.
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- The researchers compared the newly-created timescale with records from sites across the Pacific and used it in global climate modeling, finding that the growth of ice sheets and glaciers over North America and large shifts in major wind belts and tropical storm systems could be traced back to this Event.
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- One of their first clues was that megafauna across mainland Australia and Tasmania went through simultaneous extinctions 42,000 years ago. This had never seemed right, because it was long after Aboriginal people arrived, but around the same time that the Australian environment shifted to the current arid state.
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- This helps explain other evolutionary mysteries, like the extinction of Neandertals and the sudden widespread appearance of figurative art in caves around the world.
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- The magnetic north pole, the direction a compass needle points to, doesn't have a fixed location. It usually wobbles close to the North Pole (the northern-most point of Earth's axis) over time due to dynamic movements within the Earth's core, just like the magnetic south pole.
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- Sometimes, the magnetic poles' movements can be more drastic. Around 42,000 years ago they swapped places entirely. The Laschamps Excursion was the last time the magnetic poles flipped. They swapped places for about 800 years before changing their minds and swapping back again.
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- Until now, scientific research has focused on changes that happened while the magnetic poles were reversed, when the magnetic field was weakened to about 28 per cent of its present-day strength.
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- But according to these findings, the most dramatic part was the lead-up to the reversal, when the poles were migrating across the Earth. Earth's magnetic field dropped to only 6 per cent strength during the Adams Event..
- We essentially had no magnetic field at all our cosmic radiation shield was totally gone.
- During the magnetic field breakdown, the Sun experienced several 'Grand Solar Minima' (GSM), long-term periods of quiet solar activity. Even though a Solar Minimum means less activity on the Sun's surface, the weakening of its magnetic field can mean more space weather, like solar flares and galactic cosmic rays, could head Earth's way.
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- Unfiltered radiation from space ripped apart air particles in Earth's atmosphere, separating electrons and emitting light, a process called ionization. The ionised air 'fried' the Ozone layer, triggering a ripple of climate change across the globe.
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- Dazzling light shows would have been frequent in the sky during the Adams Event. Aurora borealis and aurora australis, also known as the northern and southern lights, are caused by solar winds hitting the Earth's atmosphere.
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- Usually confined to the polar northern and southern parts of the globe, the colorful sights would have been widespread during the breakdown of Earth's magnetic field.
Early humans around the world would have seen amazing auroras, shimmering veils and sheets across the sky.
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- Ionised air, which is a great conductor for electricity, would have also increased the frequency of electrical storms. These dramatic environmental changes may have caused early humans to seek more shelter. This could explain the sudden appearance of cave art around the world roughly 42,000 years ago.
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- We think that the sharp increases in UV levels, particularly during solar flares, would suddenly make caves very valuable shelters. The common cave art motif of red ochre handprints may signal it was being used as sunscreen, a technique still used today by some groups.
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- The amazing images created in the caves during this time have been preserved, while other art out in open areas has since eroded, making it appear that art suddenly starts 42,000 years ago.
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- These findings come two years after a particularly important ancient kauri tree was uncovered at Northland. The massive tree, with a trunk spanning over two and a half meters, was alive during the Laschamps period.
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- Like other entombed kauri logs, the wood of these trees is so well preserved that the bark is still attached. A specialist in dating tree-rings (dendrochronology) studied cross sections of the trees .
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- Using radiocarbon dating the team tracked the changes in radiocarbon levels during the magnetic pole reversal. This data was charted alongside the trees' annual growth rings, which acts as an accurate, natural timestamp.
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- While the magnetic poles often wander, some scientists are concerned about the current rapid movement of the north magnetic pole across the Northern Hemisphere. This speed, alongside the weakening of Earth's magnetic field by around nine per cent in the past 170 years, could indicate an upcoming reversal.
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- If a similar event happened today, the consequences would be huge for modern society. Incoming cosmic radiation would destroy our electric power grids and satellite networks.
The human-induced climate crisis is catastrophic enough without throwing major solar changes or a pole reversal in the mix.
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- Our atmosphere is already filled with carbon at levels never seen by humanity before. A magnetic pole reversal or extreme change in Sun activity would be unprecedented climate change accelerants. Let’s hope history does not repeat itself.
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February 21, 2021 EARTH - magnetic pole shift 3055
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