Observations from the European Space Agency’s “SWARM” satellite array have revealed that the Earth’s magnetic field is weakening at rate 10 times faster than previously believed and is now diminishing at 5% every 100 years. The dramatic change in the magnetic field’s strength is a potential indication of a pending pole reversal. Scientists predict that the shift could begin in as little as 2,000 years as the north pole moves in the direction of Siberia.
Magnetic pole reversals are suspected to have been the cause of previous mass extinctions on earth, but the evidence is inconclusive. The greater worry may be the increased exposure of technological infrastructure to solar radiation and coronal mass ejections. The Earth is already vulnerable to bursts of solar energy–having survived a potentially catastrophic near-miss in just 2012.
Via Scientific American.