Earth’s magnetic field is changing

It seems that Earth’s magnetic field is weakening and changing at the moment. The magnetic North is moving towards Siberia and South Atlantic Anomaly weakening the Earth’s magnetic field. There is some fear that the weakening is causing technical problems for satellites and could have other effects.

Here are some links to news on this topic:

Our Magnetic Field Is Acting Sketchy Again
Why is it so weak in the South Atlantic, and should we be worried
https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/environment/a32702425/magnetic-field-anomaly/

South Atlantic Anomaly weakening the Earth’s magnetic field can be seen expanding further
https://m.republicworld.com/technology-news/science/earths-magnetic-field-weakening-earth-news-planet-earth-esa-news.html

EARTH’S MAGNETIC FIELD IS MYSTERIOUSLY WEAKENING, CAUSING SATELLITES AND SPACECRAFT TO MALFUNCTION
https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/earth-magnetic-field-satellites-space-a9528571.html

SCIENTISTS WORRIED ABOUT EARTH’S WEAKENING MAGNETIC FIELD; SWARM SATELLITES TO INVESTIGATE
Earth’s magnetic field has been weakening across a wide stretch of area for reasons unknown. Scientists have found the magnetic field from Africa to South America to be gradually weakening.
https://www.firstpost.com/tech/science/scientists-worried-over-earths-weakening-magnetic-field-swarm-satellites-to-investigate-8400551.html

Earth’s magnetic field is weakening, which could affect satellites and spacecraft, caution scientists
https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/science/earths-magnetic-field-is-weakening-which-could-affect-satellites-and-spacecraft-caution-scientists/article31668293.ece
The magnetic field of the Earth between Africa and South America is weakening, causing problems for satellites and spacecraft.
The phenomenon has been dubbed as the South Atlantic Anomaly by scientists, who’ve been studying the occurrence, which has grown considerably in recent years.
The data gathered by the European Space Agency’s swarm of satellites reveals that the area of the anomaly dropped in strength by over 8 per cent between 1970 and 2020.
One of the possible explanations for this could be a shift in the Earth’s magnetic field, whereby the North Pole and the South Pole switch places as the field reverses.
This reversal last happened 7.8 lakh years ago, with scientists believing that a shift is long overdue. These reversals usually happen at an interval of 250,000 years.

If a reversal takes place, the repercussions could be significant and could cause major issues for telecommunications and satellite systems.
https://m.republicworld.com/technology-news/science/earths-magnetic-field-is-weakening-reveal-esa-scientists-in-lockdown.html
Satellites and spacecraft malfunction as Earth’s magnetic field mysteriously weakens
Scientists are finding that the weakening is causing technical problems for satellites, and seems to be growing in its effects.

https://news.sky.com/story/amp/earths-magnetic-field-which-protects-us-from-solar-radiation-is-mysteriously-weakening-11992022

Pole shift: The magnetic North is moving towards Siberia and scientists may know why
https://www.express.co.uk/news/science/1282915/Pole-shift-magnetic-north-moving-Siberia-magnetic-blobs/amp
https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/earth-magnetic-field-satellites-space-a9528571.html

A possible explanation for the Earth’s North magnetic pole moving toward Russia
https://phys.org/news/2020-05-explanation-earth-north-magnetic-pole.html
A trio of researchers, two with the University of Leeds, the other the Technical University of Denmark, has developed a theory to explain why Earth’s north magnetic pole has been drifting from Canada to Russia.

Swarm probes weakening of Earth’s magnetic field
https://www.esa.int/Applications/Observing_the_Earth/Swarm/Swarm_probes_weakening_of_Earth_s_magnetic_field
https://www.tiede.fi/artikkeli/uutiset/magneettikentta-hiipuu-nyt-afrikan-lahella

6 Comments

  1. Tomi Engdahl says:

    https://science.slashdot.org/story/20/08/18/220214/nasa-is-tracking-a-vast-growing-anomaly-in-earths-magnetic-field?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Slashdot%2Fslashdot%2Fto+%28%28Title%29Slashdot+%28rdf%29%29

    NASA is actively monitoring a strange anomaly in Earth’s magnetic field: a giant region of lower magnetic intensity in the skies above the planet, stretching out between South America and southwest Africa. This vast, developing phenomenon, called the South Atlantic Anomaly, has intrigued and concerned scientists for years, and perhaps none more so than NASA researchers. The space agency’s satellites and spacecraft are particularly vulnerable to the weakened magnetic field strength within the anomaly, and the resulting exposure to charged particles from the Sun.

    https://www.sciencealert.com/nasa-is-tracking-the-mysterious-evolving-anomaly-in-earth-s-magnetic-field

    Reply
  2. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Earth’s North Magnetic Pole Is Heading Towards Siberia – And Scientists Now Know Why
    https://www.iflscience.com/environment/earths-north-magnetic-pole-is-heading-towards-siberia-and-scientists-now-know-why/

    The North Magnetic Pole is on the run – and scientists might finally know why.

    Since it was first documented by scientists in the 1830s, the North Magnetic Pole has wandered some 2,250 kilometers (1,400 miles) across the upper stretches of the Northern Hemisphere from Canada towards Siberia. Between 1990 and 2005, the rate of this movement accelerated from less than 15 kilometers per year to around 50 to 60 kilometers per year.

    A new study, published this week in the journal Nature Geoscience, argues the changes could be explained by the to-ing and fro-ing between two magnetic “blobs” of molten material in the planet’s interior, causing a titanic shift of its magnetic field.

    The recent shift towards Siberia, it seems, is caused by a blip in the pattern of flow in Earth’s interior that occurred between 1970 and 1999.

    “What we’ve discovered is that the North Magnetic Pole’s position is controlled by two patches of magnetic field – one underneath Canada and one underneath Siberia – and they act as a tug of war effect controlling the location of the pole,”

    “Now historically, the Canadian patch has been winning the war and that’s why the pole has been centered over Canada but in the last few decades, the Canadian patch has weakened and the Siberian patch has strengthened slightly,” he added.

    “That explains why the pole has suddenly accelerated away from its historical position.”

    The researchers reached this conclusion using data gathered by the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Swarm satellites.

    Reply
  3. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Monster magnet meets servers…
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4l-6qWaZpVQ

    I was given a rare opportunity which I simply couldn’t resist. Testing my monster magnet on three different servers! Will the sturdy servers be much better at handling a powerful magnetic field than what I previously have tested? There were a few surprises :)

    Reply

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