An ancient tree that survived the changing magnetic field of the planet was discovered in New Zealand. Agathis australis tree, southern agathis, better known as "kauri", was found on the northern island of New Zealand, in the area of Ngawha, during excavation work to expand the territory of the geothermal power plant.
The trunk was buried under eight meters of soil, its dimensions are 2.4 meters in thickness and 19.8 meters in length. According to carbon analysis, the tree lived for about 1,500 years, from 40,500 to 39,000 BC.
“The cowrie tree's lifespan spans a moment in Earth's history when the magnetic field almost completely changed. During this time, magnetic north and south went on a tour but did not fully complete the full turn.
It is believed that the Earth's magnetic field is created by iron in the planet's core. When it moves, it generates electrical currents that travel far into space. The magnetic field acts as a barrier protecting the Earth from the solar wind. This is a stream of charged particles from the Sun that could destroy the ozone layer if it affected the atmosphere.
When the magnetic field changes or tries to do so, it becomes weaker, resulting in more radiation from the Sun. Scientists have previously linked the disappearance events to magnetic field inversions.
The newly discovered rings of the cowrie tree contain a complete record of almost complete circulation - the first time a tree has ever been found that lived during the entire event. "The time it takes for this movement to occur is critical … We will be much more accurate in mapping these changes with tree rings," Hogg said.
“NASA says magnetic field changes occur at random intervals, although over the past 20 million years it appears to have settled into a structure that occurs once every 200,000 to 300,000 years. The last complete reversal occurred about 780,000 years ago.
Author: Prostoilogin
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