NOAA/Disclosure
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NOAA, the US National Ocean and Atmosphere Administration, has just released its latest report on the state of the planet Earth’s magnetic field, using data from its World Magnetic Model 2020 (WMM2020) and a more recent model from data collected by the Swarm satellites of the European Space Agency (ESA) until September 2021.
According to NOAA, nonlinear changes in the Earth’s magnetic field have remained small for the past two years. Since 2020, the North magnetic pole (respectively South) has moved at an average speed of 44 km/year and without any noticeable change in direction. Such movements have led to small changes in the shape and location of the blackout zones (WMM), where the accuracy of the compass is lower.
The South Atlantic Anomaly, where the intensity of the geomagnetic field is lower, continued to increase, by about 50 nT at sea level, and to move westward with its center shifted by about 50 kilometers at sea level at towards South America.
Unlike Mercury, Venus and Mars, Earth is surrounded by an immense magnetic field called the magnetosphere. Generated by dynamic and powerful forces at the center of our world, the magnetosphere protects us from erosion of our atmosphere by the solar wind (charged particles that our Sun continually spews), erosion and particle radiation from coronal mass ejections (massive clouds of energy and magnetized solar plasma and radiation), and cosmic rays from deep space.
The magnetosphere plays the role of guardian, repelling this unwanted energy that is harmful to life on Earth, keeping most of it at a safe distance from the Earth’s surface in twin donut-shaped zones called the Van Allen belts.
What is most striking is the acronym AMAS, which stands for Magnetic Anomaly of the South Atlantic. It is a phenomenon that is still a mystery for science and that often in social networks someone wonders if it is interfering with the climate in Brazil and in South America, although there is no evidence so far.
NOAA/Disclosure
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AMAS, which is growing and with its center closer to South America, is a kind of lag in the Earth’s magnetic protection located over the South Atlantic, more specifically in the South and Southeast regions of Brazil, in a range that extends to the Africa.
But how can this armor deficit high above the South Atlantic affect life on our planet? One consequence we already understand is the role of satellites in Earth orbit. When passing through the region with low rear protection, they can show damage caused by the flow of cosmic radiation.
Therefore, the anomaly is monitored by space agencies such as ESA and NASA, and more recently by Brazil, which launched the nanosatellite NanosatC-BR2 with this mission. This is what Marcel Nogueira, a doctor in Physics, a researcher at the National Observatory, explained to Agência Brasil.
“Why are space agencies interested in the anomaly? Because as this region has a weaker field, solar wind particles enter this region more easily, the flow of charged particles that pass through that region is much more intense”, explains Nogueira.
“This means that when satellites pass through this region, they sometimes have to remain on stand by, momentarily turning off some components to prevent the loss of the satellite, of any equipment that may burn out. Because the radiation, mainly electrons, in this region is very strong. So it is in the interest of space agencies to constantly monitor the evolution of this anomaly, especially in this central range”, he adds.
Imagine a day without internet, cell phone, GPS or means of communication? If the phenomenon affects the satellites that are responsible for communication and geopositioning systems, then it can affect our technological life.
“If people study storms too, we are able to improve our electricity distribution system and protect it, avoiding these blackouts. Because in everyday life that we have today, so dependent on technology, any type of blackout in the electrical system, in any country, generates losses of millions or even billions of dollars. It’s something very important for our technological life today.”, says the researcher.
In Brazil, in addition to the nanosatellite launched into space in partnership with the Russian space agency, there are also two magnetic observatories that, among other missions, are focused on answering questions about this anomaly: Vassouras, in Rio de Janeiro, and Tatuoca, in Amazon region.
Both are part of the Global Network of Magnetic Observatories, the Intermagnet. The lack of conclusions arouses curiosity about the South Atlantic Anomaly. That is why it ends up being popularly associated with events such as those already registered in the Bermuda Triangle. But Marcel prefers to say that the phenomenon is much more of a technological challenge and that there are no conclusions that point to the risks of cosmic radiation flow in human life.
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