Earth’s Magnetic Field on the Verge of Collapse: New Study Reveals Potential Impact on Life Formation

OSLO – Earth’s magnetic field it has changed direction many times over millions of years, sometimes accompanied by temporary weakening. A longer period in which this area was reduced occurred between 591 and 565 million years ago.

As reported by Rideapart, soon after, complex animal fossils first appeared in the geological record.

A new study suggests that the weakening may be what allows this to happen, despite the controversy over the field’s role in making life possible.

The geomagnetic field is one of the things that differentiates Earth from Venus and Mars. This has helped the Earth resist the atmospheric drag caused by the solar wind, and acted as a shield against large coronal discharges that would have flooded the planet with radiation.

The search for life outside the Solar System assumes that strong magnetic fields are necessary, at least for life on the surface rather than deep inside planets.

The strength and direction of fields throughout Earth’s history can be read in rocks that preserve a record of local fields at the time they were created, as long as the subsequent heat does not destroy the bonds.

Professor John Tarduno from the University of Rochester and colleagues studied samples of plagioclase crystals from the Passo da Fabiana Gabbros, Brazil, which formed 591 million years ago.

They found evidence of the lowest water levels ever recorded, one-30th of today’s water levels, and also much lower than at any previous time.