The
collapse of the earth's magnetic field, which both guards
the planet and guides many of its creatures, appears to
have started in earnest about 150 years ago, the NY TIMES
is planning to report on Page One Tuesday.
Science reporter Bill Broad has filed
a report, according to newsroom sources, which explores
how: 'The field's strength has waned 10 percent to 15
percent so far and this deterioration has accelerated
of late, increasing debate over whether it portends a
reversal of the lines of magnetic force that normally
envelop the earth."
Broad explains: "During a reversal,
the main field weakens, almost vanishes, and then reappears
with opposite polarity. Afterward, compass needles that
normally point north would point south, and during the
thousands of years of transition much in the heavens and
Earth would go askew."
Broad claims: "A reversal could knock
out power grids, hurt astronauts and satellites, widen
atmospheric ozone holes, send polar auroras flashing to
the equator and confuse birds, fish and migratory animals
that rely on the steadiness of the magnetic field as a
navigation aid.
Below is a computer simulation showing
the Earth's interior as its magnetic field reverses, perhaps
because of changes in the flow of molten iron in the core.
See New York Times article (registration
required):
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/13/science/13magn.html
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