Of all the ways that humanity could come to an end, one theory that has picked momentum in recent months is that the Earth's magnetic poles may flip. However, a new study confirms that this likely won't happen soon.
The Theory
In January, rumors stretched across the internet about the Earth's magnetic poles flipping. Some scientists suggested that the Earth's poles could flip within the next 2,000 years, and the consequences could be disastrous.
The north and south poles of the Earth play an important role in the magnetic field, which protects the planet from space radiation.
NASA says that the Earth is in the middle of a 20-million-year pattern, which involves a pole reversal every 200,000 to 300,000 years.
The recent concern about the pole reversal is that the magnetic field over Earth has weakened during the last two centuries. Within the magnetic field is a diminished area known as the South Atlantic Anomaly. This area, which is around Chile, has some people nervous about a potential pole reversal.
How Scientists Proved The Theory Wrong
An April 30 study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that Earth's magnetic poles will likely not reverse soon. An international team of researchers, including ones from the University of Liverpool, contributed to the study.
Researchers tracked the current geomagnetic field on Earth with two other fields that occurred between 46,000 and 49,000 years ago. They found that although there were similarities back then with the older fields, the magnetic poles did not flip. In fact, they found that the current geomagnetic field doesn't mirror past disruptions. Instead, the past poles just wobbled.
"By studying the two most recent excursion events, we show that neither bear resemblance to current changes in the geomagnetic field and therefore it is probably unlikely that such an event is about to happen," said Richard Holme, professor of geomagnetism at the University of Liverpool. "Our research suggests instead that the current weakened field will recover without such an extreme event, and therefore is unlikely to reverse."
Consequences Of The Poles Flipping
Although the Earth's poles won't be flipping in the near future, it could happen hundreds of thousands of years from now. The consequences of this event would be devastating. If a pole reversal occurred, animal migration and satellites will be thrown off course.
This could also happen even if the poles just wobbled. Aside from this, compasses won't properly work as well.
