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Earth ’s magnetized field may have been similarly as strong 3.7 billion geezerhood ago as it is today , pushing the earliest particular date for this planetary protective bubble back 200 million years .
The timing puts the magnetized field in play around the same time living was first issue onEarth . The oldest fossils on the planet — bacterial Master of Arts in Teaching predict stromatolites — date back 3.5 billion geezerhood , with some researchers claiming to havefound stromatolites as onetime as3.7 billion years .
Co-author Athena Eyster standing in front of a large exposure of banded iron formation, the iron rich deposit from which ancient magnetic field signals were extracted.
The new study suggests that at that time , the planet had a protective magnetic bubble around it that deflected cosmic radiation and detrimental charged particles from the sun .
However , the flow of solar charged particles was much potent at that time , saidClaire Nichols , an Earth scientist at the University of Oxford and lead source of the field of study , which was put out April 24 in theJournal of Geophysical Research . That potent " solar wind " would have stripped away the magnetosphere protect the planet , intend Earth was far less shielded than it is today . That finding has implications for the lookup foralien living .
" When we ’re looking for lifetime on other planet , having a magnetic study is not necessarily key , " Nichols told Live Science . " Because actually , with a much smaller magnetosphere , it still look like liveliness was capable to develop . "
Co-author Athena Eyster standing in front of a large exposure of banded iron formation, the iron rich deposit from which ancient magnetic field signals were extracted.
The Holman Hunt for extraterrestrial life is only one understanding to wonder aboutEarth ’s magnetised field . Not every planet has a magnetosphere , and investigator are n’t quite certain what kicked Earth ’s into gear . Today , the magnetic orbit is driven by the churning of the melted part of the Congress of Racial Equality and the conveyance of heat from the solid inner core group to the convective outer effect as the former cools . But researchers opine the burden did n’t solidify untilabout a billion years ago .
Nichols and her team sound far out of the way to seek out signs of the ancient charismatic field of study — 93 mile ( 150 kilometers ) inland of Nuuk , Greenland , to a spot on the edge of the ice sheet accessible only by helicopter .
The rocks from this region , call the Isua Supracrustal Belt , are some of the honest-to-goodness surviving portions of Earth ’s crust on the planet . They bear iron - productive formations that carry on information about the magnetized field ’s direction and speciality when the rocks formed .
researcher can also look at folds in the tilt because of later geological turbulence to see if the direction of the magnetic field matches the orientation of the John Rock . If it does n’t , the magnetic field predates those geologic case , for which investigator often know the age .
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Using these method acting , the researchers find that 3.7 billion years ago , the charismatic field was at least 15 microtesla in strength . That ’s half the mediocre durability of the charismatic battlefield today . But it ’s a lower - end estimate , Nichols said , so it ’s possible that the field back then was around as impregnable as it is now .
" Whatever is ram the magnetized field of force in the center was just as potent before the core was solidify , " Nichols say .
The researchers are now interested in delving more deeply into the connections between the ancient magnetic field of view and Earth ’s atmosphere . Around 2.5 billion years ago , the standard pressure suddenly experience a flood of oxygenation . This was partially due to the development ofphotosynthesis , Nichols said , but the strength of the magnetic playing field can affect which gases persist within the atmosphere and which one escape into outer space .
" I ’m really concerned to know if the charismatic flying field has play a role in the phylogenesis of Earth ’s atm over time , " Nichols enjoin .
