Earth's magnetic field weakening, reversal possible in far future

[Loonman]

http://www.wtopnews.com/index.php?nid=220&sid=151108


Earth's Magnetic Field Weakens 10 Percent
Updated: Thursday, Dec. 11, 2003 - 11:12 PM

By ANDREW BRIDGES
AP Science Writer

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - The strength of the Earth's magnetic field has decreased 10 percent over the past 150 years, raising the remote possibility that it may collapse and later reverse, flipping the planet's poles for the first time in nearly a million years, scientists said Thursday.

At that rate of decline, the field could vanish altogether in 1,500 to 2,000 years, said Jeremy Bloxham of Harvard University.

Hundreds of years could pass before a flip-flopped field returned to where it was 780,000 years ago. But scientists at a meeting of the American Geophysical Union cautioned that scenario is an unlikely one.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

1. fun, huh?

there are several documented situations where this has occured in the past (I attribute this knowledge to my near obsession with the Discovery Channel and TLC)...would be interesting to see how the new technological age deals with this one...

TheProdigal

[Loonman]

2. Mars had a magnetic field once

From a Nova special on the Earth's magnetic field.

Mars also had an atmosphere probably not unlike Earth, as well.

[mobuto]

10. But there's no way

Earth's magnetic field is going to disappear in the manner of Mars' in the immediate future - our core is still churning around actively.

At most this polarity reversal will screw things up for a few thousand years. But this has happened many times before, and our ancestors (three-toed sloths and the like) survived.

[Mr.Green93]

3. cell phones

and other radio microwaves could be weakening Earth's magnetic field.

[Loonman]

6. Doubtful

Kind of like emptying the Pacific Ocean with an eye dropper.

[PunkinPi]

4. PBS ran an interesting piece on this a few weeks ago, see link

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/magnetic/

[cosmicdot]

5. Edgar Cayce spoke and wrote of such, didn't he?

I always heard he built his headquarters in Va Beach after careful study saying it was the 'safest' location.

[JM]

7. I saw this and was looking for the interactive

exhibit of what happens. Is it just me, or does anyone else think based on the imaging of the fluctuations that our wierd weather patterns could be attributed to this?

JM

[MsFlorida]

8. HAARP

Wonder if this has anything to do with it. Its difficult to believe that lifting the earth's atmosphere and punching little holes in it wont do some damage.

[tsipple]

9. OK, Is This Bad? Good? Merely Curious?

Other than the fact my magnetic compass won't work -- make that my distant offspring's magnetic compasses won't work -- should I be bothered?

[Loonman]

12. Not to worry

Even when the field weakens while moving toward a reversal cycle, you'd just have to be more careful outside because lots of X-rays and cosmic rays come through.

[mobuto]

13. Well it isn't bad

for you or me because we'll be long dead by the time the situation changed enough for us to be affected. But I'd say the consequences of a polarity reversal would be, uh, rather significant. Our planet would be for several hundred years bombarded with massive amounts of cosmic radiation, which would cause genetic mutations and probably destroy many species, and probably also cause very bizarre weather. It would also screw up all unshielded electronic circuits, so advice your great-great-great grandchildren to invest in Faraday cages. I don't know enough about geology to know what the geologic consequences would be, but I suppose there could be some of them too.

But life would continue. This has happened before, apparently unaccompanied by massive extinctions, so I'm not going to spend a whole lot of time worrying.

[Loonman]

15. Yeah, I think like 5-6 times before, maybe more

Life would go on.

[ArkDem]

11. It is amazing that the Bush administration

could screw this up, too!

[Loonman]

14. Nothing to do with Bush or Global Warming

Just a natural Earth cycle..

[ArkDem]

17. ****************HUMOR ALERT**********************

.

[Ernesto]

16. It was Clinton, don't ya get it?

[PVnRT]

18. Could this be the work of....

MAGNETO?????

http://24.188.68.181:8000/magnus.jpg

[Loonman]

19. And here's some dumbos who don't understand science

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1039204/posts

[RebelOne]

20. That's scary. Luckily, none of us will be alive then.

Did anyone see the movie The Core? It's all about that.