Earth’s magnetic poles flipped some 41,000 years ago; here’s how

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One well-known example of a magnetic field excursion is the Laschamps event, which happened around 41,000 years ago.

Earth’s magnetic field serves as a protective barrier against cosmic radiation from space. But this shield isn’t always as stable as it appears.

The reduced intensity meant the magnetic fields could not deflect charged particles away from the planet, as they typically do. The event exposed Earth’s atmosphere and surface to dangerous cosmic rays as well as a steady bombardment of charged particles from the Sun.When cosmic rays penetrate Earth’s atmosphere, they interact with the nuclei of atmospheric atoms. This interaction results in the formation of cosmogenic radionuclides.

The analysis of these isotopes may reveal information about the period when Earth’s surface was intensively bombarded with cosmic rays. Moreover, these isotopes may be created by cosmic rays interacting with atoms in Earth’s atmosphere, such as beryllium-10.

 

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