In recent years, scientists have been gearing up for a potential flip in the magnetic field – a natural phenomena which had thought to occur every 200,000 to 300,000 years when the north and south poles switch. The poles attempted to swap 40,000 years ago but the process failed.
As a result, the last time the poles switched place was 780,000 years ago, meaning we are long overdue a flip in the magnetic field.
The poles are constantly shifting, usually by around one degree a year.
But new research suggests the pace of the movement could be much quicker than previously thought.
Earth’s magnetic field is created by the liquid iron outer core spinning around the solid inner core.
The dynamic action creates an invisible field which goes through the north and south of the planet and encircling it, which leads to the Earth’s North and South Poles.
Many species of animals, most notably birds, have a sense for the magnetic poles which allow them to successfully navigate the globe during periods of mass-migration, leading experts to fear that it could cause confusion.
The shield also keeps us protected from cancer-causing solar rays and humans have grown to rely on the magnetic field more and more as we increase our independence on things like satellites.
However, as humans were not about during the last switch, it is impossible to accurately predict so their movements require a certain amount of guesswork.
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“Understanding whether computer simulations of the magnetic field accurately reflect the physical behaviour of the geomagnetic field as inferred from geological records can be very challenging.
“But in this case we have been able to show excellent agreement in both the rates of change and general location of the most extreme events across a range of computer simulations.
“Further study of the evolving dynamics in these simulations offers a useful strategy for documenting how such rapid changes occur and whether they are also found during times of stable magnetic polarity like what we are experiencing today.”