A team of scientists has reported that ancient village burning rituals that took place during the Iron Age have provided evidence of what could have possibly caused the weakening of the magnetic field in South Africa.
Scientists discovered that a hot and dense rock 2,000 miles beneath the surface that is 4 miles wide is the cause of Africa’s magnetic field weakening.
“The steep-sided slab apparently manipulates the behavior of the swirling liquid iron that creates the planet’s magnetic field. Scientists have hypothesized that it’s changes in the flow of this iron that cause irregularities in the magnetic field and may precipitate geomagnetic reversal events,” according to UPI.
The team reviewed evidence of shifts in electromagnetic behavior in Africa for many years and they now have hard evidence to explain this behavior.
“Rocks containing magnetite, an iron oxide mineral common to almost all igneous and metamorphic rocks, reveal the electromagnetic conditions present at their formation. When ancient Iron Age fires swept through villages in South Africa, the embers burned hot enough to melt the magnetite in the floors and rock below — erasing the magnetic history. When the melted floors cooled in the wake of the blazes, the magnetite were reorganized by the ancient electromagnetic field — offering a snapshot of electromagnetic history,” researchers explained.
“By analysis of the ancient scorched foundations, researchers confirmed that the region featured a 30 percent drop in magnetic field intensity from 1225 to 1550 CE. The data suggests the localized weakening, known as the South Atlantic Anomaly, is a recurring feature of the Earth’s magnetic field,” according to UPI.
The team’s research has been published in the journal Nature Communications. The group has more work to complete and they plan to build connections between the recent weakening and history of pole reversals.
