Mysterious spot in Earth's Magnetic Field is now growing rapidly

By End Time Headlines

Mysterious spot in Earth's Magnetic Field is now growing rapidly

The South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA), a significant dip in Earth's magnetic field, has expanded rapidly over the past eleven years, growing by an area equivalent to half the size of continental Europe. This phenomenon, first noted over a century ago, continues to puzzle scientists.

Data from the European Space Agency's (ESA) Swarm satellites reveals the anomaly's dynamic behavior.

As detailed in a recent paper published in the journal Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors, the SAA is influenced by a massive swirling body of molten iron in Earth's outer core, approximately 1,800 miles below the surface.

Lead author Chris Finlay, professor of geomagnetism at the Technical University of Denmark, stated: "The South Atlantic Anomaly is not just a single block.

It's changing differently towards Africa than it is near South America. There's something special happening in this region that is causing the field to weaken in a more intense way."

Finlay further explained: "Normally we'd expect to see magnetic field lines coming out of the core in the southern hemisphere. But beneath the South Atlantic Anomaly we see unexpected areas where the magnetic field, instead of coming out of the core, goes back into the core."

Beyond the SAA, Swarm data shows the magnetic field strengthening over Siberia while weakening over Canada, linked to the northern magnetic pole's drift toward Siberia.

Finlay noted: "When you're trying to understand Earth's magnetic field, it's important to remember that it's not just a simple dipole, like a bar magnet. It's only by having satellites like Swarm that we can fully map this structure and see it changing."

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