Problem
Geomagnetic reversal
Other Names:
Reversal of Earth's magnetic fieldAxis shift of Earth
Nature:
At present the north-seeking end of a compass points approximately in the direction of the North Pole but paleomagnetic studies have shown that the Earth's magnetic field has been reversed in the past so that the same compass needle would have pointed south. Since the geomagnetic field normally helps to shield the Earth's surface from low-energy radiation, reversals permit a higher incidence of radiation to reach the surface, possibly causing extinctions and mutations. The more highly specialized species would be more vulnerable to such changes. Some bird migration patterns would be severely affected. Incidence:
Around 440 million years ago the land that is now the Sahara was at the South Pole. When continental land masses are located over the poles, huge ice sheets readily form. Massive continental glaciers significantly chill both oceanic currents and the atmospheric circulation, cooling down the whole planet. Broader Problems:
Risk of ecoaccidentsGeomagnetic disasters Subject(s):
Fundamental Sciences → ElectromagnetismEarth → Earth
Geophysics → Geophysics
Psychology → Psychology
Related UN Sustainable Development Goals:
Problem Type:
F: Fuzzy exceptional problems Date of last update
04.10.2020 – 22:48 CEST