5 ms·
We are also about 350,000 years overdue for a magnetic pole swap. [1] Also, it cycles at 300,000-400,000 years not millions. [1] https://futurism.com/earths-m
by double0jimb0 7y ago
We are also about 350,000 years overdue for a magnetic pole swap. [1]
Also, it cycles at 300,000-400,000 years not millions.
[1] https://futurism.com/earths-magnetic-poles-overdue-switch https://futurism.com/earths-magnetic-poles-overdue-switch
- BurningFrog 7y agoThanks for the timing correction! I hoped "every few million years" was vague enough that I didn't have to look it up, but sometimes you gamble and lose :)
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- 24gttghh 7y agoLooking at a map someone else linked to, the pole has shifted drastically in the last 50 years. Could that be an indication that it is in the process of shifting? It's been moving North in a straight line for the past 100 years, and now it's actually heading South towards Siberia. https://maps.ngdc.noaa.gov/viewers/historical_declination/ https://maps.ngdc.noaa.gov/viewers/historical_declination/
- BurningFrog 7y ago> Could that be an indication that it is in the process of shifting? It could be. Since we've never seen a shift, we don't really know how it looks. And a shift takes a few thousand years, so we can probably be centuries into it before it's clear what's happening.
- jobigoud 7y agoAh, too bad, it would have been great drama if it flipped instantly! Or even better, oscillated a few times over the course of a few years before settling in.
- BurningFrog 7y agoI mean, for all we know it might oscillate like that. I doubt the geological record is fine grained enough to tell fast oscillations apart from a slow drift.