Earth's magnetic poles on verge of flipping

World Net Daily ^ | December 12, 2003

[gitmo]

The Earth's magnetic field is weakening, and that could lead to a flip in the planet's poles making compasses point south instead of north for the first time in almost a million years, say scientists.

Experts at the American Geophysical Union in San Francisco say the field has declined 10 percent in the last 150 years, and suggest a reversal could lead to problems in navigation and a jump in cancer rates with a diminished ozone layer.

"Is a reversal coming? Yeah, it's coming for sure – sometime,'' said geologist Robert Coe of the University of California-Santa Cruz, according to the San Jose Mercury News.

Physicists say the average period between pole flips is about 200,000 years, and the last one is believed to have taken place 780,000 years ago, making the next swap long overdue.

According to Harvard University's Jeremy Bloxham, the field could disappear completely within the next 2,000 years if the rate of decline remains constant, but he's not certain if the poles will actually reverse.

"Chances are this is going to die out," he said, reports the San Mateo County Times. "Reversals are pretty rare."

If a flip did take place, it would be over the course of several thousand years, and scientists say it would likely reduce the protective ozone layer, cause glitches in satellites and electronic products, and create a flurry of navigational anomalies as compasses would "cease to be a simple means of navigation," according to Bloxham.

The consequences would be the same if a reversal takes place or the field continues to diminish, with one researcher estimating an additional 100,000 cancer cases annually as people would be subject to more of the sun's harmful rays.

[streetpreacher]

What did Bush know and when did he know it?!!

[cajun-jack]

Art Bell has people on his show talking about this...my question is: the average time between flips is about 200k years, but the last one was 780k yrs ago.....how do they come up with an avg of 200k yrs???

[fiscally_right]

Because the evidence shows that many of them have happened much more frequently than that..

[fiscally_right]

People noted that while rocks on Earth were magnetized in a disordered way, the sea bottom was magnetized in long strips. Larry Morley (whose article was regarded so speculative that journals would not publish it) and then Matthews and Vine (who managed to publish) suggested that molten rock was spreading out like a conveyer belt from volcanic cracks in the middle of the ocean floor, e.g. the one in the middle of the Atlantic (Azores islands sit on it). Or rather like 2 belts, one moving towards Europe, one towards America, carrying on them the continental plates, so that Europe and America gradually drift apart. As each belt comes out of the crack, its lava solidifes to basalt, causing it to become magnetized, and when the field reverses, its magnetization reverses too. So the bottom of the ocean records the field like the tape of a tape recorder, containing perhaps 50 million years of record.

[Landru]

"Earth's magnetic poles on verge of flipping"

Maybe that explains the behavior of the Republicans.

...since they've already flipped.

[hosepipe]

Yeah yeah and the skys falling and prez Bush will O.K and pass the biggest socialist entitlement project in 40 years...lies ,... lies all of it...

I ain't buying it...

[SubMareener]

now...just a minute...who was at the last pole flip...you know that one that took place 780,000 years ago...and did they use a Hewlett-Packard test unit then to figure this out? I think that was long before the compass was even invented. Did this article come out of "Science Fiction" comic books, or what?

The strength and orientation of the earth's magnetic field is recorded cooling lava flows all over the earth. Here is a pretty good article explaining it.

[capitan_refugio]

There is considerable debate in geophysical circles about the duration of a magnetic field reversal. In the rock record, paleomagnetic reversals are well-recorded. I have studied magnetic reversals recorded in Cenozoic igneous rocks of southern California.

The science behind the study of reversal is based on the polarity of ferro-magnetic crystals in igneous rocks. When the molten igenous rock is deposited and cools, the crystal alignment record the field polarity. As you know, eruptions are episodic, although some areas (such as Hawaii or the basalt flows in the Idaho area) can continue, off and on, in the same place for millions of years. Another place the magnetic field is well-recorded in on the ocean floor igneous basement. The sea floor spreads away from the volcanic ridges and a characteristic "stripped" pattern is observed when towing a magnetometer over a large area.

With all that said, it is also a fact that a few inches of the rock record can equate to hundreds and thousands of years, so even the sharpest magnetic contact in the rock record can represent a time interval of many years.

However, there is a school of thought in geophysical circles that believes that there can never exist "null polarity." The field must either be "normal" (the current condition by definition) or "reversed." A weak field can exist, for an indefinite duration, but never a null field.

The effect(s) of a magnetic reversal on society is another matter. I think the "dire" warnings are more about obtaining research funds than about good science. Much like the "global warming" hoax.

[Indie]

Excellent nutshell of plate tectonics theory. One of my Geology profs used to joke about the earth reversing it's magnetism. He stated that would kill us all by allowing radiation through from the sun. If that didn't do it, the sun turning into a brown darf would.
And now, a word from our sponsor: Rinso! Rinso gets clothes Rinso white! :))

[TheMole]

Although I'm generally in accord with your take on the seriousness of the magnetic pole situation, I disagree about the bar magnets. The polarized pieces of iron with N at one end and S on the other would be completely unaffected by weakenings or reversals of the earth's magnetic field. Science class could go on just as before.

[Wilhelm Tell]

Uh, this is serious science, although absolutely no one knows the timing. Don't dismiss until you understand why the controversy started in the first place.

This is real science and not junk science. The earth's magnetic field shields us from cosmic rays and other dangerous things. There is quite solid evidence that the magnetic field has shifted before, and it stands to reason that it will shift again. I would imagine there will be quite an increase in cancer, and it may even harm agriculture in some parts of the world. This is a problem our descendants will have to deal with for hundreds of years.

[Indie]

Actually, I should rephrase it. He stated the radiation would kill us all as the earth's magnetic field passed through null as it reversed.

[Drammach]

I realize you are probably being "Flippant" (pun intended) but here are your answers. (sort of )

Does this mean when it gets to zero just prior to the 'flip', we'll all float off into space?
According to everything I've read, magnetism and gravity are two different things.
Personally, I could lose 10 pounds and not be any the worse for it.
A few people may "flip out" however.. I have no idea what such change might have on people's personality.
Keep a loaded gun by your side at all times, shoot anyone that looks suspicious or liberal.

Will we have to rename the America's? (N. America will become S. America)
Being the Lazy Type, I prefer to keep all the old designations, and simply re-label my compass.

Where will the Northern Lights go?
They should increase spectacularly. Ionization of the atmosphere would increase due to lack of protection by the magnetic field. (my best guess)

Will whirl pools rotate in the other direction?
No. Water drains clock-wise or counter clock-wise due to coriolis forces.

Will pigeons lose their way?
Possibly. Other birds too. While birds are known to use landmarks to navigate, they are also known to have a sort of "compass" sensitive to magnetic field orientations.
If I recall correctly, this is part of the properties of bird's brain matter.

The song "North to Alaska" will no longer be valid...
See above, first reply.
Using my lazy man's approach to geomagnetic disaster, (see my forthcoming book available on Amazon.com) simply re-labelling all compasses, and telling the "masses" that nothing has happened, it is all another crackpot conspiracy theory, will solve the problem.

p.s....
My forthcoming book will have a more "politically correct" title, possibly two different titles.
This is for two reasons.
1. So as not to scare the intellectually challenged, (democrats) to whit; "Why Your Compass Doesn't Work, How to Fix It, and The Sky Isn't Falling."
2. To generate government grants for research, i.e., "Proposal For A Low-Maintenance Approach To Resolving the Planetary Magnetic Field Reversal Phenomenon and Considerations of Mass Psychological Manipulation With Regards to The General Population" ( Including a Special Appendice Acknowledging the Ancient Native American Wisdom Contained In the Mayan Calendar and The Possible Correlation of Planetary Magnetic Field Reversal and The Mayan End of The World Philosophy. )

Use of a Thesaurus, large, incomprehensible words, and a rambling, convoluted sentence structure, repetition of a main idea or theme, and plenty of ranting about the ozone layer, chloroflourocarbons, and the Kyoto Treaty will guarantee at least $250,000.00 worth of research grant funding.
If I play my cards right, I can turn it into a full-blown psuedo science, and start an environmental movement, possibly an enviro-industry.
There is definitely cash in this..

Please Send Your Donation ASAP...
Regards,
Drammach.. ;oP

[ATOMIC_PUNK]

The real questions are :

When this happens will we all fall down ?
Should we wear knee and elbow pads ?
Should we lower the water to 6 iches deep in the fishtank ?
Will my CD player skip ?
Should safeguards be set in place inside toilets nationwide so that the water keeps turning in the correct direction after this world wide shake up ?
Will my cat hunt dogs instead of mice ?
Will whitney houston reveal the crack that is whack is actually plumbers crack and thats why bobby slapped her because hes not big enough to be the plumber she needs ?

[ReformedBeckite]

Geez, the UN has to do something quick about this...

I think you might be onto something. Maybe half of the UN could goto the North pole to study this situation and the other half could goto the South pole.

[DonQ]

The poles have previously "flipped" but not the way some of these flying saucer types have described.

The strength of the two poles can be charted as strengthening and weakening in very long waves. The evidence for this includes the orientation of iron particles in ancient mud; the proportion of uniformity in the orientation of the particles reflects the strength of the magnetic force.

Over the course of MANY thousands of years, the magnetic force diminishes (the iron particles become more random), until it seems to disappear and then reappears slowly - but with "north" and "south" reversed, and this also peaks over thousands of years, then diminishes over thousands of years, and flips again.

This is normal, and does not involve any apocalyptic events. In our lifetime - and the lifetime of our greatgrandchildren - the change in the magnetic poles will be virtually undetectable except to the most refined lab equipment.

[Jaysun]

Although I'm generally in accord with your take on the seriousness of the magnetic pole situation, I disagree about the bar magnets. The polarized pieces of iron with N at one end and S on the other would be completely unaffected by weakenings or reversals of the earth's magnetic field. Science class could go on just as before.

My comments were a feeble attempt at humor. The idea that bar magnets would be affected was nonsense - but in my opinion the bar magnet theory is just as legitimate as any other theory being put forth by the "scientist" who study the earth and environment.

[DBrow]

This is the only "disaster" not made into a movie.

Now, don't anyone steal my idea cuz I have been working on a screenplay about geomagnetic field flipping.

A teenager starts dating this cute girl whose Dad is a scientist, who thinks the Earth's field might flip and kill all the birds (who navigate with little bits of magnetite in their brains, the truth, you know) and then there will be an explosion of the bug population that will eat all the wheat and avocados and then we'll all die, but other scientists don't believe him, except for his rival, who is trying to steal the files from his computer, and the US Army, who wants him to stop researching the topic for secret reasons of their own.

So anyhow, the kid has an idea of how to convince everybody so they will all learn how to rub bar magnets in a certain way (everybody on Earth has to do this at the same time, so education is important but the cute girl's dad has the details worked out), but first he has to rescue the girl from the scientist who is trying to steal the files, but not get caught by the Army, who is looking for the kid and the girl and the Dad, who is hiding in a cabin.

Are you with me so far? Oh yeah, the kid has to find a car too because his dad took the keys to the kid's car because he's grounded.

I'm still working on the plot...

[MississippiMan]

UH-OH. We shoulda elected Kerry. I hear he had a plan to fix this.

MM

[hosepipe]

[ WTF is the point of this article? ]

Y2K re-dux...