Earth losing its magnetic strength, which has adverse effects -The South Atlantic Anomaly

EARTH’S MAGNETIC FIELD IS MYSTERIOUSLY WEAKENING, CAUSING SATELLITES AND SPACECRAFT TO MALFUNCTION

The Earth's magnetic field is weakening between Africa and South America, causing issues for satellites and space craft.

Scientists studying the phenomenon observed that an area known as the South Atlantic Anomaly has grown considerably in recent years, though the reason for it is not entirely clear.

Insights -  Earth's magnetic field is weakening in an area between Africa and South America, scientists with The European Space Agency (ESA) say. Also known as the geomagnetic field or the surface magnetic field, this field forms the Earth's magnetosphere and spans tens of thousands of kilometres into space.

This behaviour of the earth's magnetic field in the area between Africa and South America is being termed the 'South Atlantic Anomaly'. 

Using data gathered by the European Space Agency's (ESA) Swarm constellation of satellites, researchers noted that the area of the anomaly dropped in strength by more than 8 per cent between 1970 and 2020. "The new, eastern minimum of the South Atlantic Anomaly has appeared over the last decade and in recent years is developing vigorously," said  Jürgen Matzka, from the German Research Centre for Geosciences.

"We are very lucky to have the Swarm satellites in orbit to investigate the development of the South Atlantic Anomaly. The challenge now is to understand the processes in Earth's core driving theses changes."

One possibility, according to the ESA, is that the weakening field is a sign that the Earth's magnetic field is about to reverse, whereby the North Pole and South Pole switch places.

The last time a "geomagnetic reversal" took place was 780,000 years ago, with some scientists claiming that the next one is long overdue. Typically, such events take place every 250,000 years.

The South Atlantic Anomaly has been captured by the Swarm satellite constellation (Division of Geomagnetism, DTU Space)

The repercussions of such an event could be significant, as the Earth's magnetic field plays an important role in protecting the planet from solar winds and harmful cosmic radiation.Telecommunication and satellite systems also rely on it to operate, suggesting that computers and mobile phones could experience difficulties.