A new study suggests that a reversal in Earth’s magnetic poles may have caused 42,000 to 41,000 years ago to environmental conditions that caused catastrophic destruction. The time is called the Laschamps tour and research used detailed carbon separation obtained from ancient tree fossils to study its effects.
The team explains how they created a detailed radiocarbon record around the time of the “Laschamps geomagnetic revolution about 41,000 years ago from New Zealand swa kauri tree rings.”
“This chart shows a significant increase in carbon-14 content in the atmosphere ending at a time of weakening in magnetic field strength before the polarity change.” The team concluded that the “lowest geomagnetic level caused large changes in atmospheric ozone density that eroded global climate and environment” with their model examining the impact of this event.
The researchers also confirmed that this is the first study of its kind to determine a link between pole rotation and environmental changes. To conduct the study, Cooper and his team used cross-sections from four ancient trees found in a bog at Ngāwhā Springs in northern New Zealand and tested them for carbon-14.
The team then thought about how a changing range would affect atmospheric weather patterns. Their results showed that an increase in loaded grains into the atmosphere would lead to an increase in the production of atmospheric hydrogen and nitrogen oxides.
These molecules would consume ozone, preventing the stratospheric ozone from protecting the Earth’s defenses from ultraviolet radiation. These changes would also disturb sunlight from being absorbed at different layers in the atmosphere, leading to extreme cooling of the planet.
Ultimately, it is not yet known what happened 42,000 years ago. But the study could spur more research to examine the principles behind these massacres. The study was published in the journal Science.