Delving Into Mysterious Irregularity Of Earth's Magnetic Field: Observatory Being Built In Middle Of Atlantic Ocean
The new geomagnetic observatory is located on the island of Tristan da Cunha and was inaugurated on Friday 14 November by the island?s roughly 300inhabitants and a few of the researchers on the project.
[snip]
At present the strength of the Earth?s magnetic field is decreasing by 5% every hundred years and researchers do not know why or what the consequences will be. In the South Atlantic Anomaly, the strength of the magnetic field is decreasing ten times as fast and the measuring station will therefore also give the researchers the opportunity to learn more about the consequences of the global weakening of the magnetic field.
[snip]
In the Anomaly, the radiation belts that surround the Earth, the van Allen belts, are very close to the surface of the Earth. This is, among other things, significant to satellites, which suffer by far the majority of faults when they fly through this area.
Full story: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/11/081125090348.htm
The new geomagnetic observatory is located on the island of Tristan da Cunha and was inaugurated on Friday 14 November by the island?s roughly 300inhabitants and a few of the researchers on the project.
[snip]
At present the strength of the Earth?s magnetic field is decreasing by 5% every hundred years and researchers do not know why or what the consequences will be. In the South Atlantic Anomaly, the strength of the magnetic field is decreasing ten times as fast and the measuring station will therefore also give the researchers the opportunity to learn more about the consequences of the global weakening of the magnetic field.
[snip]
In the Anomaly, the radiation belts that surround the Earth, the van Allen belts, are very close to the surface of the Earth. This is, among other things, significant to satellites, which suffer by far the majority of faults when they fly through this area.
Full story: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/11/081125090348.htm