Breaking News: Scientists Uncover Hard Evidence Dating Earth’s Magnetic Field Origin

Scientists have – finally – found hard evidence that accurately dates the age of the Earth’s magnetic field. Not only that; the same evidence shows how strong the field was at the time.

It was certainly not easy, but the result is impressive: evidence was finally found that can be used to date the magnetic field. This is evident from a recent study by scientists from England. For this research they traveled to the Isua Supracrustal Belt in southwest Greenland. The Isua Supracrustal Belt also known as the Isua Greenstone Belt and has been dated in previous research as one of the oldest rock formations in the world: about 3.7 billion years old. Lead researcher Claire Nichols contributed to the study. She says: “It was very difficult to get reliable information from such old rocks. It was very cool to see the first magnetic signals during the subsequent investigation in the laboratory. Ultimately, we are trying to find out more about when life first appeared on the Earth’s surface – and what role the magnetic field played in this. This discovery represents an important step forward in that process.” The research is published in the journal Journal of Solid Earth Geophysical Research.

Small magnets
For the research, the scientists studied stones from Greenland. These stones contain several layers of iron particles that are clearly visible. These iron particles contain very valuable information: when iron particles become very warm, they begin to behave like small magnets, often copying the strength and direction of the magnetic field. This is the core of the hard evidence: by reading this information in a laboratory, it was finally discovered what the condition of the magnetic field was at the time. Isua Supracrustal Belt it was created; or 3.7 billion years ago. These results show that the magnetic field used to have a strength of around 15 microtesla. According to the scientists, this is comparable to the current strength of the magnetic field, which is about 30 microtesla.

The wind of the sun
The results of the study are important for several reasons. First, the results are surprising because they show that the magnetic field is much older than previously thought. It is surprising that the strength of the magnetic field 3.7 billion years ago was very similar to the strength of the magnetic field today.

More precisely
This is not the first time that scientists have tried to determine the age of the Earth’s magnetic field and the strength of the Earth’s magnetic field in the past. But previous studies have mostly used samples of loose rocks and crystals to learn more about the age of the magnetic field. For this study, the scientists used samples from a larger rock formation, making the results more reliable in the end.

However, there are many other reasons why the results are important for science. As Nichols previously stated, the researchers ultimately hope to learn more about the strength and precise location of the magnetic field over the years. The new research may help with this. The scientists point out, for example, that the magnetic field has long protected us from external threats, such as cosmic radiation and particles cut from the sun – also known as ‘wind’ of the sun’. However, scientists believe that the effect of the solar wind on Earth would be much more intense than it is today. He tentatively notes that the Earth’s magnetic field – which must have been around 3.7 billion years ago as it is today – has gradually begun to provide more protection to the surface of the Earth. And that would then have given the first animals the opportunity to leave the oceans – which they had to be protected from the sun’s charged particles – and live on land.

Dynamo
Finally, there is also one last important reason to mention; The magnetic field can teach us more about the origin of the earth. The magnetic field is created by the dynamo effect caused by movements of iron particles in the outer liquid core of the Earth, which in the end generates electricity. To keep this effect going, a solid inner core is needed, in which the molten iron particles move forward due to their strong force. However, in the past – when the Earth was only just formed – it did not yet have a solid inner core, which has led scientists to wonder for some time whether the Earth already had a magnetic field . According to the scientists behind this new research, their findings show that this is the case: they also suspect that the mechanism behind the creation of the geomagnetic field in the years that early part of the Earth working just as efficiently as the ‘dynamo’. ‘ who is responsible for this today.