What would shifting in the magnetic poles do to the Earth?

Ive been reading about this for sometime here on other thread not about the poles shifting but other subjects. Would the earth change how? Thanks for all you help. Thanks.

Here Ya Go

Well, we know from the magnetic "stripes" in basalt at the bottom of the Atlantic trench that such reversals have happened fairly regularly over the past 60-70 million years.

We could have a reversal within another fifty thousand years or fifty weeks -- no one can say for sure.

But what we are pretty sure of is that there's no major catastrophe tied up with such an event, simply because the paleontological record does not show any major die-off correlated to any of these magnetic pole shifts, thank Ghod.

Of course, there is a major difference between a magnetic pole shift, which is fairly common (in geological time-frames, that is) and an axis-of-rotation pole shift which has not happened before and will not happen.

If it were to happen in a lifetime all life would turn to toast from incoming radiation. Since it happens over millenniums no one notices or knows. I think!

[edit on 30-9-2004 by tututkamen]

The magnetic field would have to be near zero for quite some time for us to be "toast". The magnetic field only protects us from the solar winds, which is comprised mostly of ions. These ions hit Earth regularly, and are stopped by our atmosphere. We call the result aurorae.

It would likely force us Earthlings to readjust our methods of navigation in relation to our maps. North (magnetic) wouldn't be the same as before a shift, obviously.

[edit on 1-10-2004 by Der Kapitan]

Well, it's constantly changing, anyway. Compasses are essentially useless north of the arctic circle. Also, technically the north magnetic pole is in the south Pacific. Interesting, the results would be.

Navigation via compass is way out of date, anyway. The GPS satellites don't rely on magnetic information, since the field is in constant flux. Of course, there's a chance of mass satellite failure if the field died, since the electronics wouldn't be shielded from the cosmic rays.

[edit on 1/10/2004 by Ut]

If the magnetic poles reverse there positions do they rotate around the world or decline to zero and then increase in strength in the opposite polarity? What process could cause either scenario? If the poles reduced to zero strength we could be in trouble otherwise I don't think so, as there would remain a magnetic field, but with the poles in odd positions en route as it were. Well, one doesn't die at the North and South poles today.

[edit on 1/10/04 by Oddfellow]

[edit on 1/10/04 by Oddfellow]

Originally posted by Oddfellow
If the magnetic poles reverse there positions do they rotate around the world or decline to zero and then increase in strength in the opposite polarity? What process could cause either scenario? If the poles reduced to zero strength we could be in trouble otherwise I don't think so, as there would remain a magnetic field, but with the poles in odd positions en route as it were. Well, one doesn't die at the North and South poles today.

[edit on 1/10/04 by Oddfellow]

[edit on 1/10/04 by Oddfellow]

They drop to near zero. The field isn't thought to ever actually vanish. Weird things are expected to happen, though. We could have three, four, five, or more magnetic poles for a time. The mechanism is unknown.

If the field disappears, there wouldn't be anything to worry about for some time. The solar winds and CMEs would, in time, strip the Earth of its atmosphere, but until that happened life would be fine. The atmosphere would absorb most if not all of the energy. It'd be awfully pretty. Eventually, the magnetic field would intensify again.

And if it didn't, we'd all get fried as our atmosphere ionised.

Originally posted by Off_The_Street
axis-of-rotation pole shift which has not happened before and will not happen.

I thought this happend like 14,000 years ago, but not north to south but the axis moving 15 degrees north to a more even level to the solar system plane.

[edit on 2-10-2004 by et is dead]

Originally posted by et is dead

Originally posted by Off_The_Street
axis-of-rotation pole shift which has not happened before and will not happen.

I thought this happend like 14,000 years ago, but not north to south but the axis moving 15 degrees north to a more even level to the solar system plane.

[edit on 2-10-2004 by et is dead]

The rotational poles precess. That is, they stay at the same 23.5 degree tilt, but they also spin very slowly on a secondary axis, sort of like a spin top that's slowing down. This isn't a sudden occurance. It's happening right now, and has been happening for as long as we've had the Moon in orbit around us. It will continue to do so until the Moon is no longer there.