The Earth's magnetic field is weakening

More accurate measurements of parameters of Earth's magnetic field made by the three satellites of the European space Agency (ESA) has shown that our planet's magnetic field is weakening, according to RIA Novosti with reference to the German newspaper Der Spiegel.

Changes in the magnetic field of the Earth has happened in the past more than once. It is known that the field changes direction on average once in 250 thousand years. However, the last significant shift of the magnetic poles, the so-called transition brynäs-Matuyama, there has been more than 780 thousand years ago. It is obvious that the change of magnetic poles must occur in the "near" future.

The magnetic field protects our atmosphere from solar wind — stream of particles that can capture and carry away molecules of the gas envelope of the planet. Scientists believe that it therefore has lost its atmosphere Mars has no magnetic field. Field of the Earth directs the high-energy particles along magnetic field lines, and this creates for the planet, a kind of protective cocoon. The pole shift does not weaken protection.

The problem, however, is that over the last 100 years the Earth's magnetic field has weakened by about 5%. In the field of so-called South Atlantic anomaly off the coast of Brazil, the weakening is more significant. Observations made by three European satellites Alpha, Bravo and Charlie show that the dynamics of the weakening of the magnetic field are the most high over all the American continent.

In addition, measurements made by satellites, say that magnetic North, located in Arctic Canada (physics, on the contrary, call it "Southern"), is shifting towards Siberia at an average speed of 90 meters per day.



Source: globalscience.ru