Volcanic data shows that our ancestors experienced 22,000 extreme years when the Earth’s North Pole gradually turned into the South Pole and vice versa.
New research led by professor of geosciences Bradley Singer from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (USA) has discovered a particularly long period in human history, when the Earth reversed its magnetic poles for the last time. .
The work dates back to discoveries as far back as 1993, when Professor Singer and colleagues studied a volcano in Chile and discovered unusual ancient lava flows .
The analysis shows that the strange lava flows are evidence of a time when the earth reversed its magnetic poles. It is a difficult and slow process, lasting up to 22,000 years, not 1,000 or 10,000 years as previously assumed.
Earth slowly reverses its magnetic poles over a period of 22,000 years – (photo: SPACE).
Magnetic polar inversion is the process that occurs when iron molecules in the Earth’s outer core (a layer of liquid matter surrounding the inner core in a solid state) begin to move in the opposite direction of other surrounding iron molecules. they. As this “army” upstream increased, these molecules strongly affected the magnetic field from the earth’s core, causing the planet’s two magnetic poles to gradually reverse.
During the 22,000 years of Earth’s inversion, the Earth’s magnetic field – which shields the planet from heat and radiation from the sun – has weakened, making life much more difficult for organisms. many, including our ancestors.
It is estimated that the Earth’s last magnetic pole reversal occurred around 773,000 years ago. At that time, the species Homo Sapiens (or modern humans, that’s us), the only representative of the human genus that has survived to this day, had not yet appeared. However, the ancestors of the extinct species of the genus Man had been born and lived in the “cradle” of Africa millions of years earlier.
Commenting on the work, geophysics professor John Tarduno from the University of Rochester (USA), who was not involved in the study, said: “The actual effects of that are still controversial, and they are not tragic or extreme as many had predicted”.
There have been studies showing that the earth has reversed its magnetic poles several times in the past 2.5 million years, and the next reversal will soon come in a few thousand years. Many fear it could be the end of the world for humanity. But according to these new data, the final reversal is not apocalyptic.
Author Singer suggests that the effects that can occur when the Earth reverses polarity is genetic mutation , stress for a number of plant and animal species, some of which may become extinct due to inability to adapt to the increase of the sun’s harmful ultraviolet rays. Fortunately, the ancestors of the genus Human overcame a difficult period, continued to multiply and evolve into many new species, including us.
In today’s context, the reverse of magnetic poles can also damage many communication systems. Recently, scientists also discovered a slight change in the Earth’s North Pole: from the Northern Canada region, today’s Arctic has “run” to the position of Siberia (Russia).