Earth's magnetic poles may be flipping by 10° each year, way more than previously thought!

The Earth’s magnetic field, ie, the location of the North Pole and the South Pole is never stable. In fact, itiscontinuously in the process of flipping, until it gradually does. What’s North Pole today will be South Pole in a hundred thousand years, and vice versa.

However, scientists have discovered a new piece of information about this which could change how we understand magnetic poles. The pole reversal, according to new study published in Nature Communications, could happen ten times faster than previously thought.

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On an average, the phenomenon happens every few hundred thousands of years.This switch has multiple implications, for it affects life on Earth, and the course of evolution.

One degree per year? Wrong!

Earlier, scientists thought the maximum shift in the magnetic field would amount to one degree per year, but this new research says over ten degrees of movement could be taking place every year. The researchers reached this conclusion by following up on computer simulations of the outer core which is primarily made up of nickel and iron and resides 2,800 kilometres below the planet’s surface. This is the part of the planet which decides the magnetic field and the changes in it.

The researchers from University of California San Diego juxtaposed their digital imitations of the core with a timeline of magnetic pole activity over the last 100,000 years and were able to find similarities which pointed to a faster movement.

When the magnetic field of Earth experiences changes, they can getreplicated in the sediments, lava, and objects made out of these!

The scientists also posited that the quick switch may be attributed to localised fluctuations in the intensity of the magnetic field. For instance, they noted a movement of almost 2.5 degrees per year 39,000 years ago. This was right after the planet’s magnetic field became weak in Central America.

The field, besides facilitating compass based navigation, also protects living beings from solar radiations, and the poles are constantly on the move, without us noticing it!

Even though they can’t still pinpoint to the exact cause and projected timeline of the shift, one thing’s for sure: the switch is contingent on a lot of factors that we still have no idea about!