American scientists have determined the frequency of the geomagnetic inversion (change of magnetic poles) of the Earth. The work of the authors allows us to predict the timing of this event in the future. The research is published on the arXiv.org website.
As scientists have shown, a geomagnetic reversal occurs approximately every 26 million years. The last time such an event happened was about 700 thousand years ago. Consequently, the onset of the inversion is possible in about 25 million years.
In their study, the authors processed paleomagnetic and geochronological data over the past 375 million years. For this, scientists used Fourier analysis - the representation of functions as a sum of harmonic oscillations occurring at different frequencies.
Previously, scientists assumed that the change in the polarity of the field occurs at a frequency of 16 million years. This value of the parameter could be obtained by taking into account the magnetic activity associated with plumes - hot streams of the mantle moving from the core towards the Earth's crust.
The inversion of the poles, as scientists believe, takes place over several thousand years and leads to a short-term sharp weakening of the Earth's magnetic field. As a result, the surface of the planet reaches the cosmic radiation harmful to living organisms. A number of scientists believe that the geomagnetic reversal is of a random rather than periodic nature.
