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Evolution of the Large-Scale Geomagnetic Field over the Last 12 000 Years

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Abstract—The ERDA and IGRF-12 geomagnetic field models are used to study the behavior of Earth’s large-scale magnetic field. The unusualness of the modern field’s behavior is studied from the viewpoint of the appearance of a new reversal. Estimates are given for the change in energy of the potential magnetic field on the Earth’s surface and of the liquid core, as well as Joule dissipation in the liquid core over 12 000 years. Both values increase sharply for the modern field, which is associated with an increase in the resolution of observations. Various methods for describing geomagnetic field reversals are considered. It is shown that the estimate for the duration of the reversal may depend on the method. It is demonstrated how erroneous reversal predictions may be, based on short time series, in particular, over the last century.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The author thanks V.E. Pavlov for his attention to the work.

Funding

The study was supported by the Russian Science Foundation (grant no. 19-47-04110).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Schmidt Institute of Physics of the Earth, Russian Academy of Sciences, 123995, Moscow, Russia

    M. Yu. Reshetnyak

  2. Pushkov Institute of Terrestrial Magnetism, Ionosphere, and Radio Wave Propagation, 108840, Moscow, Troitsk, Russia

    M. Yu. Reshetnyak

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Correspondence to M. Yu. Reshetnyak.

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Reshetnyak, M.Y. Evolution of the Large-Scale Geomagnetic Field over the Last 12 000 Years. Geomagn. Aeron. 60, 121–130 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0016793220010119

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S0016793220010119

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