Magnetic pole of the Earth: is pole inversion possible?

The magnetic poles of the Earth are a component of the geomagnetic field of the planet that arises from the motion of molten fluxes of iron and nickel around the central solid core, due to currents in the ionosphere, local anomalies of the earth's crust , etc. The magnetic pole recognizes the point at which the geomagnetic field is under A right angle to the surface of the planet. In total, there are two poles - north and south, which are not antipodal due to the asymmetry of the field.

The magnetic pole of the Earth in the northern hemisphere is inherently southern; This is the place where the lines of force of the field go under the surface. And the "true" north pole is in the south, where these lines emerge from under the surface.

It is assumed that humanity knows the existence of magnetic poles for a long time. Already in 220 BC in China images of the first compass, which was called the "heavenly table", were made. It was a small spoon, rotating in the middle of a plate of bronze. The exact coordinates of the location of the north and south magnetic pole of the Earth were established in the thirties and forties of the XIX century. In 1831, the Ross brothers determined that the north pole is 70 degrees 5 minutes north latitude and 96 degrees 46 minutes west longitude. And the southern magnetic pole has the following coordinates: 75 degrees 20 minutes south latitude and 132 degrees 20 minutes east longitude (established in 1841). As of the beginning of the 21st century, the location of these points has changed significantly. The northern magnetic pole of the Earth "left" from the point, determined in 1831, to 1340 km, and the southern - to 1349 km (from the location of 1841 respectively). The trajectory of the movement of these points is not linear - they can perform and return actions.

In recent years, scientists have noted that the displacement of the Earth's magnetic poles has significantly accelerated. Some attribute this to the fact that in 1969-1970. There was a geomagnetic jump, which significantly changed the parameters of the planet's field. Further, the correction of the position of the coordinates was carried out under the influence of jumps in 1978 and 1991-1992. In addition, the magnetic pole of the Earth is under the influence of the total field strength, which in the last century has fallen to a minimum value. In this connection, there are suggestions of a possible inversion of the poles, when they are reversed, which will cause numerous disruptions and natural disasters. Over the past two million years, poles have already been changed about 20 times, of which the latter fell to a period of about 0.8 million years ago. However, when this happens next time, no one can predict accurately, because All previous events were of an irregular nature.

In the 1993 studies conducted with rocks from the bottom of the Pacific Ocean, it was found that after a polarity reversal, the magnetic field first receives the maximum charge, and then its strength gradually fades away. Perhaps this is some kind of universal mechanism, which makes it possible to strengthen the protection of life on the planet from cosmic radiation. Without it, our Earth would be lifeless, like Mars, where there is a very weak field, or like Venus, where there is none at all.