About 42,000 years ago, the Earth’s magnetic poles changed and the magnetic field around the planet temporarily collapsed. According to a new study, the shift was apocalyptic, filling the large climate shift with lightning storms in the sky, extensive auroras and cosmic radiation. Researchers have even argued that this major climate change may have played a decisive role in the extinction of the giant megafauna, which roamed Neanderthals and once Australia.
It is easy to assume that the Earth’s magnetic poles are stable – north-to-north and south-to-south. However, magnetic poles can rotate a few kilometers per year, and geological records show that the Earth is long lasting for total polar migration. This process generally thought to driven by the movement of magnetic “blobs” of molten matter rotating around the interior of the planet.
A particularly significant change the Earth magnetic field knows as the Laschamps event, which occurred about 42,000 years ago. When the poles are overturned, the magnetic field breaks down temporarily and remains weak for about a thousand years. To understand how this magnetic field affected life on Earth, scientists at the University of New South Wales and the South Australian Museum looked at New Zealand’s ancient Kauri tree rings, which have preserved in sediments for more than 40,000 years.
They discovered obvious signs of a global environmental crisis. As published in the journal Science, the tree ring revealed considerable spikes in atmospheric radiocarbon levels 42,000 years ago. The team suggests that it had a devastating effect on the natural world and could probably explain some of the major extinctions that occurred around this time.
“The impact of this event was identified and global and it could be important for our evolutionary story. The coincidence between the timing of the Laschamps event and the extinction of Neanderthals and Megafauna in Australia is remarkable and sheds light on the event globally, “said Professor Chris Fogwill, Director of the Keats Institute for Sustainable Futures.
“If something similar happens today, the consequences for modern society could be huge. Incoming cosmic radiation will destroy our electrical energy grids and satellite networks, “added Professor Alan Cooper, co-lead author of the South Australian Museum. This is one of the many theories as to why Neanderthals became extinct. Others speculate that this may be a result of competition with Homo sapiens, resulting in reduced fertility, fertility rates, and other manifestations of climate change. It is fair to argue that it was actually a combination of all these factors, including a catastrophic magnetic pole collapse.
Since the event occurred 42,000 years ago, researchers have dubbed it the “Adams Transitional Geomagnetic Event”, in agreement with the novelist Douglas Adams and his book The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, where number 42 answers the great question, “What is life, the universe?.”
About 42,000 years ago, the Earth’s magnetic poles changed and the magnetic field around the planet temporarily collapsed. According to a new study, the shift was apocalyptic, filling the large climate shift with lightning storms in the sky, extensive auroras and cosmic radiation. Researchers have even argued that this major climate change may have played a decisive role in the extinction of the giant megafauna, which roamed Neanderthals and once Australia.
It is easy to assume that the Earth’s magnetic poles are stable – north-to-north and south-to-south. However, magnetic poles can rotate a few kilometers per year, and geological records show that the Earth is long lasting for total polar migration. This process generally thought to driven by the movement of magnetic “blobs” of molten matter rotating around the interior of the planet.
A particularly significant change the Earth magnetic field knows as the Laschamps event, which occurred about 42,000 years ago. When the poles are overturned, the magnetic field breaks down temporarily and remains weak for about a thousand years. To understand how this magnetic field affected life on Earth, scientists at the University of New South Wales and the South Australian Museum looked at New Zealand’s ancient Kauri tree rings, which have preserved in sediments for more than 40,000 years.
They discovered obvious signs of a global environmental crisis. As published in the journal Science, the tree ring revealed considerable spikes in atmospheric radiocarbon levels 42,000 years ago. The team suggests that it had a devastating effect on the natural world and could probably explain some of the major extinctions that occurred around this time.
“The impact of this event was identified and global and it could be important for our evolutionary story. The coincidence between the timing of the Laschamps event and the extinction of Neanderthals and Megafauna in Australia is remarkable and sheds light on the event globally, “said Professor Chris Fogwill, Director of the Keats Institute for Sustainable Futures.
“If something similar happens today, the consequences for modern society could be huge. Incoming cosmic radiation will destroy our electrical energy grids and satellite networks, “added Professor Alan Cooper, co-lead author of the South Australian Museum. This is one of the many theories as to why Neanderthals became extinct. Others speculate that this may be a result of competition with Homo sapiens, resulting in reduced fertility, fertility rates, and other manifestations of climate change. It is fair to argue that it was actually a combination of all these factors, including a catastrophic magnetic pole collapse.
Since the event occurred 42,000 years ago, researchers have dubbed it the “Adams Transitional Geomagnetic Event”, in agreement with the novelist Douglas Adams and his book The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, where number 42 answers the great question, “What is life, the universe?.”
