Sometimes the geologic record obscures evidence of these important reversals in field direction, but statistical techniques ...

Researchers have identified a period of sluggish magnetic field flipping for planet Earth, some 40 million years ago – raising big questions about how long these reversals actually take, and how we ...

Deep beneath the ocean floor, ancient sediments hint that Earth’s magnetic field sometimes changed far more slowly than expected.

A sediment core from the North Atlantic has revealed that one ofEarth’s magnetic field reversals during the Eocene lasted far ...

Earth’s magnetic field can linger in a weakened, unstable state for tens of thousands of years before fully flipping.

Learn how some of Earth’s magnetic field flips last longer than others, weakening our defenses against cosmic radiation.

Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. A massive weak spot in ...

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. David Bressan is a geologist who covers curiosities about Earth. Without its magnetic field, life on Earth would not be possible ...

During a brief but dramatic chapter in Earth's history about 41,000 years ago, the planet’s magnetic field nearly collapsed. What followed was a cascade of environmental and biological changes that ...

The Earth's magnetic field and oxygen evolved together over 540 million years, according to a major NASA study.

Earth's magnetic field is generated by the churn of its liquid nickel-iron outer core, but it is not a constant feature. Every so often, the magnetic north and south poles swap places in what are ...