There are many reasons why life on earth can exist. We are at the right distance from the sun, our planet has an abundance of liquid water (but not too much to cover all the land), and our atmosphere is beautiful and thick, protecting us from radiation and dangers in ‘ e space. The Earth’s magnetic field is also very important, because it protects our atmosphere from charged particles flying through space, which would otherwise slowly throw it away.
Now scientists have observed changes in what they call a ‘dent’ in the Earth’s magnetic field, and are dividing the so-called South Atlantic Anomaly. In the short term, this phenomenon could create a headache for satellite operators, as protection for their spacecraft over this region became less. In the long run? We do not really know what that means.
Scientists have known for some time about this strange feature of the Earth’s magnetic field, but in recent decades it has gradually changed. Researchers believe the tooth is now split in two, prompting scientists to question exactly what is happening.
Observing changes to the magnetic field is one thing, but the forces at work that drive change are a little different. Researchers observing changes in magnetic patterns deep within the Earth have found that some serious strange things are happening in the area just below the anomaly.
Via NASA:
“As the nuclear motion changes over time, the magnetic field fluctuates in complex geodynamic conditions within the nucleus and at the boundary with the fixed mantle upward. These dynamic processes in the nucleus ripple outward to the magnetic field around the planet, generating the SAA and other functions in the Earth’s orbit – including the tilt and drift of the magnetic pulse, which the time moves. “
“The observed SAA may also be interpreted as a result of weakening of dominance of the dipole field in the region,” Weijia Kuang of NASA said Goddard’s Geodesy and Geophysics Laboratory in a statement. “More specifically, a localized field with reverse polarity grows strongly in the SAA region, making the field intensity very weak, weaker than that of the surrounding regions.”
At present, scientists do not believe that the foreign belly in the magnetic field will pose a threat to our planet’s ability to support life. It would take a much more dramatic change in the Earth’s magnetosphere to trigger an event that would threaten our existence. In the meantime, scientists will continue to study the anomaly and try to learn more about how the forces within our planet affect its magnetic field.
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