LESSON 12

EARTH’S MAGNETIC FIELD AND

MAGNETIC REVERSALS
 LESSON OBJECTIVES:

1. Define magnetic reversal;

2. Discuss how and why magnetic
poles flip or change;
3. Describe the magnetic
anomalies in the rocks ; and
4. Explain how magnetic
reversals provide evidence for
sea-floor spreading
 EARTH’S MAGNETIC FIELD
 is a dipole. It has:
a.) North Magnetic
Pole
b.) South Magnetic
Pole
 Importance:
1.) deflects solar
wind & protects life
on Earth from solar
wind or radiation
2.) allows us to use
a compass to
navigate around the
world.
 Earth’s magnetic
poles are
constantly
changing
 MAGNETIC REVERSAL
 Also called
Geomagnetic
Reversal
 It happens when
the positions of the
magnetic North pole
and magnetic South
Pole are
interchanged due to
the change in the
direction of flow in
the outer core.
 This can be
observed or
explained through
the magnetic stripes
in rocks.
 FORMATION OF MAGNETIC STRIPES IN ROCKS
 As magma rises
and cools, iron and
magnesium
minerals(magnetite
) align themselves
to the Earth’s
magnetic field
 “Magnetic Stripes”
are formed
- indicating the
polarity of the
earth’s magnetic
field the time the
crust was formed.
 Magnetic stripes
are mirrored on
each side of the
mid-ocean ridge
NORMAL POLARITY
 The present
direction of the
Earth’s magnetic
field

REVERSED POLARITY
 The opposite of the
present field

PALEOMAGNETISM
 The study of the
record of the Earth’s
magnetic field in
rocks, sediments or
archeological
materials