Scientists say ‘anomaly’ in Earth’s magnetic field is dividing

There are many reasons why life can exist on Earth. We are the right distance from the Sun, our planet has an abundance of liquid water (but not too much to cover all of the earth), and our atmosphere is nice and thick, protecting us from radiation and dangers in space. Earth’s magnetic field is also very important, as it protects our atmosphere from charged particles flying through space that would otherwise slowly tear it apart.

Now scientists have observed changes in what they call a “breach” in Earth’s magnetic field, and the so-called South Atlantic anomaly is dividing. In the short term, this phenomenon could create a headache for satellite operators, as the protection of their spacecraft over this region would be lessened. Long-term? We really don’t know what that means.

Scientists have known about this strange feature of Earth’s magnetic field for some time, but over the past decade it has gradually changed. Researchers believe the tooth is now splitting into two halves, which leaves scientists wondering exactly what’s going on.

Watching the changes in the magnetic field is one thing, but spotting the forces at work that are driving the change is a little different. Researchers who have observed changes in magnetic patterns deep within the Earth have discovered that seriously strange things are happening in the area immediately below the anomaly.

Via NASA:

“As the motion of the core changes over time, due to complex geodynamic conditions within the core and at the boundary with the solid mantle above, the magnetic field also fluctuates in space and in the time. These dynamic processes in the core wave outward toward the magnetic field surrounding the planet, generating SAA and other features in the near-Earth environment – including the tilt and drift of the magnetic poles, which move over time.

“The observed SAA can also be interpreted as a consequence of the weakening dipole field dominance in the region,” Weijia Kuang of NASA’s Goddard Geodesy and Geophysics Laboratory said in a statement. “More precisely, a localized field with reversed polarity develops strongly in the SAA region, thus making the field strength very weak, weaker than that of the surrounding regions.”

At the moment, scientists do not believe that the strange blow in the magnetic field will pose a threat to our planet’s ability to support life. It would take a much more dramatic change in Earth’s magnetosphere to trigger an event that would threaten our existence. In the meantime, scientists will continue to study the anomaly and try to learn more about how the forces of our planet are affecting its magnetic field.