There are some earth phenomena you can count on, but the magnetic field, some say, is not one of them. It fluctuates in strength, drifts from its axis, and every few 100,000 years undergoes a dramatic polarity reversal -- a period when north pole becomes south pole and south pole becomes north pole. But how is the field generated, and why is it so unstable
Research by two French geophysicists promises to shed some light on the mystery. Using 80 meters of deep sea sediment (沉淀物), they have obtained measurements of magnetic-field intensity that span 11 polarity reversals and four million years. The ysis reveals that intensity appears to fluctuate with a clear, well-defined rhythm. Although the strength of the magnetic field varies irregularly during the short term, there seems to be an inevitable long-term decline preceding each polarity reversal. When the poles flip -- a process that takes several hundred thousand years --the magnetic field rapidly regains its strength and cycle is repeated.
The results have caused a stir among geophysicists. The magnetic field is thought to originate from molten (熔化的) iron in the outer core, 3,000 kilometers beneath the earth’s suce. By studying mineral grains found in material ranging from rocks to clay articles, previous researchers have already been able to identify reversals dating back 170 million years, including the most recent switch 730,000 years ago. How and why they occur, however has been widely debated. Several theories link polarity flips to external disasters such as meteor (陨星) impacts. But Peter Olson, a geophysicist at the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore says this is unlikely that if the French researchers are right. In fact, Olson says intensity that predictably declines from one reversal to the next contradictions 90 percent of the model currently under study. If the results prove to be valid, geophysicists will have a new theory to guide them in their quest to understand the earth’s inner physics. It certainly points the direction for future research.