Geomagnetic reversal is a change in the orientation of the Earth’s magnetic poles where south becomes north and north becomes south. The periods between pole changes vary greatly, anywhere from 1-5 changes per one million years and the change itself takes anywhere from a few hundred to a few thousand years. The last reversal was 780,000 years ago. Our current pole position is showing signs of a new reversal starting to take place and it could temporarily collapse our current field by 3000-4000 C.E.
What causes geomagnetic reversals? Simply stated, magnetic field lines that help generate the geomagnetic field can sometimes become tangled and disorganized through the chaotic motions of the Earth’s liquid core. This instability causes the magnetic field to flip to the opposite direction and is supported by observing the solar magnetic field which also undergoes spontaneous reversals but in a much faster time period (7-15 years).
How would this affect life on Earth?
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