This is what the Earth's magnetic field reversal looked like 41,000 years ago

In this extraordinary experiment, science and art merged in a fascinating audio experience: scientists from the Technical University of Denmark, in collaboration with the German Research Center for Geosciences, used data from a European Space Agency (ESA) satellite mission to create an audio representation of an inversion in the Earth's magnetic field. . The result: a mixture of familiar natural sounds, such as creaking wood or falling stones, mixed with strange, otherworldly sounds.

It all became audible in Copenhagen's Solberg Square, home to the Experimentarium Hellerup, the country's largest science museum. As part of the sound installation, about 30 speakers were buried in the ground and played different colors and sounds – a wonderful cosmic concert.

“The goal, of course, is not to scare people – it's a quirky way of reminding us that the magnetic field exists, and although its rumble is a bit scary, life on Earth depends on it,” explains Klaus Nielsen, a musician and proponent of the idea. Technical University of Denmark project.

According to scientists, the audio representation of the magnetic field reversal is based on ESA launch data in 2013. Satellite swarm mission And other sources. As part of the Swarm mission, researchers want to use different measurements to understand how Earth's magnetic field is generated and changes over time. To do this, magnetic signals are measured from the Earth's core, mantle, crust, oceans, and even the ionosphere and magnetosphere.

Magnetic field reversal: Geological studies reveal striking effects

It is normal for the Earth's magnetic field to reverse from time to time, but this change in polarity occurs over thousands or thousands of years. Therefore, geomagnetic research is intensively concerned with studying the Earth's magnetic field, because the weakness of the poles or even their reversal has serious consequences for life on Earth. Navigation, telephone networks, air traffic – all these areas will be affected, and the climate will also change due to the reversal of the magnetic field, as scientists have proven after analyzing the remains of trees that are thousands of years old. Science magazine. described.

About 40,000-year-old kauri trees from New Zealand were examined, which were preserved in sediments and discovered during excavations. The tree rings illuminated a period of about 1,700 years and contain important information that researchers can use to create computer models: Simulations showed that the massive weakening of the Earth's magnetic field led to the drying and glaciation of large parts of North and North America. It would have led to the extinction of many animal and plant species, as well as Neanderthals.

A partial reversal of the magnetic field, the so-called “Adams event,” occurred about 42,000 years ago — and had catastrophic consequences: Earth’s magnetic field acts as a protective shield for the atmosphere, blocking radiation from space and being used for orientation by animals. During the Adams Event the density collapsed to between zero and six percent of what it is today, so there was no protection against cosmic radiation during this phase.

However, the strength of the magnetic field is constantly fluctuating, and the North and South Poles have been shifting and shifting for centuries, at a rate of 50 kilometers each year. Whether this heralds another polar reversal is controversial.

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