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August 19, 2020 03:30 am

NASA Is Tracking a Vast, Growing Anomaly In Earth's Magnetic Field

fahrbot-bot shares a report from ScienceAlert: NASA is actively monitoring a strange anomaly in Earth's magnetic field: a giant region of lower magnetic intensity in the skies above the planet, stretching out between South America and southwest Africa. This vast, developing phenomenon, called the South Atlantic Anomaly, has intrigued and concerned scientists for years, and perhaps none more so than NASA researchers. The space agency's satellites and spacecraft are particularly vulnerable to the weakened magnetic field strength within the anomaly, and the resulting exposure to charged particles from the Sun. The primary source is considered to be a swirling ocean of molten iron inside Earth's outer core, thousands of kilometers below the ground. A huge reservoir of dense rock called the African Large Low Shear Velocity Province, located about 2,900 kilometers (1,800 miles) below the African continent, disturbs the field's generation, resulting in the dramatic weakening effect -- which is aided by the tilt of the planet's magnetic axis. It's not just moving, however. Even more remarkably, the phenomenon seems to be in the process of splitting in two, with researchers this year discovering that the SAA appears to be dividing into two distinct cells, each representing a separate centre of minimum magnetic intensity within the greater anomaly. Just what that means for the future of the SAA remains unknown, but in any case, there's evidence to suggest that the anomaly is not a new appearance.

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