For 540 million years, reflux and flow in the force of the magnetic field of the earth have been correlated with fluctuations in atmospheric oxygen, according to an analysis newly published by NASA scientists. Research suggests that the processes deeply inside the earth could influence habitability on the surface of the planet.
The Magnetic Field of the Earth comes from the flow of materials on the melted interior of the planet, which acts as a giant electro-lock. The flow is not perfectly stable, which changes the field over time.
Many scientists have argued that the magnetic field is crucial to protect the atmosphere against energetic particles from the sun. But, the authors of to study Scientific advances Underline that the role of magnetic fields in preserving the atmosphere is an active field of research. Before treating the complexity of the cause and effect relationship between magnetic fields and oxygen levels, the authors of the study decided to see if the magnetic field and the atmosphere of the earth fluctuated in a way which demonstrates a link.
The history of the magnetic fields of the earth is recorded in magnetized minerals. When the hot minerals that go up with the gaps between the spread tectonic plates cool, they can record the surrounding magnetic field. The minerals keep the record on the ground as long as they are not heated too severely. Scientists can deduce historical oxygen levels from ancient rocks and minerals because their chemical content depends on the amount of oxygen available when they have formed. The data of the magnetic field and the oxygen of the earth extend over comparable beaches in the databases that a myriad of geophysicists and geochemists have compiled. So far, the authors of the new study say that no scientist had made a detailed comparison of the files.
“These two data sets are very similar,” said co -author weijia Kuang, geophysicist of the Goddard Space Flight Center from NASA in Greenbelt, Maryland. “The earth is the only known planet that supports complex life. The correlations we have found could help us understand how life evolves and how it is linked to the interior processes of the planet. ”
When Kuang and his colleagues analyzed the two separate data sets, they found that the planetary magnetic field followed similar rise and decrease patterns as oxygen in the atmosphere for almost half a billion years, going back to the Cambrian explosion, when the complex life on earth has emerged.
“This correlation increases the possibility that the force of the magnetic field and the atmospheric oxygen level respond to a single underlying process, such as the Movement of the Continents of the Earth,” said the co-author of the Benjamin Mills study, biogeochemist at the University of Leeds.
The researchers hope to examine longer data sets to see if the correlation extends further in time. They also plan to study the historical abundance of other chemicals essential to life as we know it, such as nitrogen, to determine if they also support these models. As for the specific causes connecting the deep interior of the earth to life on the surface, Kopparapu said: “There is more work to do for this.”
By James Riordon
NASA Terre Sciences New Sciences team
Media contact: Elizabeth Vlock
NASA Headquarters