Chinese scientists detected changes in magnetic field strength in the eastern and western hemispheres, possibly due to magnetic pole reversal.
The magnetic field above North America is weakening at an unusually fast rate while the magnetic field in the eastern hemisphere is strengthening, according to a research team led by professor Fang Hanxian of China’s National University of Defense Technology. Interesting Engineering reported on November 8. Scientists are trying to determine the cause, but according to them, it is related to the reversal of geomagnetic poles from the western hemisphere to the east.
Fang’s team used the latest models and data to reconstruct changes in magnetic field strength since 1900. They found that from 1930 to 1990, magnetic field strength in North America increased and became higher. many other regions around the world. However, the reversal took place over the past 30 years. In 2020, the magnetic field strength in this region decreased to levels close to the global average. That’s a very notable change. In addition to the weakened magnetic field in North America, the intensity in many other regions shows signs of increasing, including the Eurasian continent, Africa, Australia, and the North Atlantic Ocean, of which Africa has the fastest increase rate. .
The size and location of magnetic anomaly regions frequently change. According to Fang, they are most likely related to magnetic pole drift. Over the past century, the magnetic pole in the northern hemisphere has been inching eastward at a speed of 10 km/year. However, this process has recently accelerated significantly. After 2000, the speed increased to 50 km/year, far exceeding the speed of magnetic pole movement in the southern hemisphere. The weakest area of the Earth’s magnetic field is currently located in the Atlantic Ocean, east of South America. Many space agencies, including NASA, are closely monitoring that area.
The geomagnetic field is a natural barrier that protects the Earth, preventing harmful cosmic rays from reaching the ground, thus playing a key role in maintaining environmental stability. In 2018, a study by the Autonomous University of Mexico found that the geomagnetic field weakened in the decades immediately before the collapse of the Mayan empire. Similarly, in 2006, researchers at the Paris Institute of Planetary Physics discovered sudden changes in magnetic fields related to the destruction of ancient civilizations in Iran and Syria 4,000 years ago. Some scientists believe that the weakening of the Earth’s magnetic field leads not only to increased radiation but also to disturbances in the atmospheric system caused by cosmic rays, causing extreme weather events such as droughts or storms become more severe.