Scientists from Liverpool University have found that magnetic anomaly in the southern part of the Atlantic ocean existed 8-11 million years ago. This indicates that the strange behavior of the magnetic field is repeated and is not a sign of imminent revolution of the magnetic poles of the Earth. This was reported in an article published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The researchers analyzed igneous rocks on the island of St. Helena, which is located in the middle of the South Atlantic anomaly, which allowed them to identify the state of the magnetic field millions of years ago. It turned out that magnetic lines are considerably deviated from the direction to the North pole. According to scientists, they first learned about an unstable behavior of the magnetic field in such a long time scale.
South Atlantic anomaly — an area characterized by a significant reduction of the magnetic field compared to other areas in the same latitudes. Because it decreases protection from harmful cosmic radiation, over the same area often have a malfunction on Board satellites and spacecraft.
