🧬 This weakness in the magnetic field responsible for complex life on Earth?

2024-05-12 06:00:09

A weakened Earth’s magnetic field during the Ediacaran Era, approximately 635 to 541 million years ago, might have played a crucial role in the proliferation of complex life. This is what a new study by researchers at theUniversité of Rochester, published in the journal Nature Communications Earth & Environment.

This period, marked by the appearance of complex multicellular organisms, would have experienced the weakest magnetic field ever recorded, potentially influencing the levels ofoxygen atmospheric.

Researchers at the University of Rochester studied the Earth’s magnetic field during the Ediacaran period. This research raises questions regarding the factors that may have favored the emergence of complex and multicellular organisms, such as the Ediacaran fauna.
Credit: University of Rochester illustration / Michael Osadciw

John Tarduno, professor in the Department of Earth and Natural Sciencesenvironment and dean of research, explains that the weakness of champ magnetic would have facilitated the loss ofhydrogen into space, thereby allowing an increase in oxygen levels in theatmosphere. This phenomenon would have favored the emergence and development of forms of vie larger and more active, requiring more oxygen, such as the Ediacaran fauna, known for its resemblances to the first animals.

Tarduno’s team used innovative techniques to measure the strength of the magnetic field by analyzing the magnetism preserved in crystals of feldspar and pyroxene from the rock anorthosite. These crystals contain magnetic particles that preserve magnetization since the formation of minerals.

The data collected indicates that the magnetic field was at times up to 30 times weaker than the current magnetic field, this weakness lasting at least 26 million years. This finding suggests that the ultra-weak magnetic field may have contributed to increased oxygenation of the atmosphere and theocean of surfacethus facilitating the emergence of more advanced forms of life.

The study also raises the importance of understanding the internal dynamics of planets to consider the potential for life beyond Earth. This research, which links processes in the Earth’s core to the evolution of life, opens new perspectives on the relationship between planetary magnetic fields and biology.

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