What does it all mean for humans? Chances are, the flip won't be happening any time soon, but when it does flip, the world can count on serious chaos: superstorms, earthquakes, movement of tectonic plates, satellite failures, navigation equipment failures, animal migration problems, you name it. You don't want to be around when that happens...
Dr. Gary A. GlatzmaierThis computer simulation shows the Earth's interior as its magnetic field reverses, perhaps because of changes in the flow of molten iron in the core.
A reversal could knock out power grids, hurt astronauts and satellites, widen atmospheric ozone holes, send polar auroras flashing to the equator and confuse birds, fish and migratory animals that rely on the steadiness of the magnetic field as a navigation aid.
A trio of new satellites, called Swarm, are to monitor the collapsing field with far greater precision than before and help scientists forecast its prospective state.
No one knows precisely why the field periodically reverses, but scientists say the responsibility probably lies with changes in the turbulent flows of molten iron, which they envision as similar to the churning gases that make up the clouds of Jupiter.