Researchers report a global model of the geomagnetic field between 30,000 and 50,000 years ago, according to which the field structure during the two most recent geomagnetic excursions--large fluctuations in Earth's magnetic field intensity and polarity--did not resemble the present-day field, whereas field structures similar to the present-day occurred approximately 49,000 and 46,000 years ago, but did not develop into excursions or long-term polarity reversals, suggesting that the present-day geomagnetic field does not portend a future excursion or reversal.
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Article #17-22110: "Earth's magnetic field is probably not reversing," by Maxwell Brown, Monika Korte, Richard Holme, Ingo Wardinski, and Sydney Gunnarson.
MEDIA CONTACT: Maxwell Christopher Brown, University of Iceland, Reykjavik, ICELAND; tel: +354-525-4730, +354-832-0015; e-mail: <maxwell@hi.is>
Journal
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences