Nt1310 Unit 3
Unit 3 Writing Assignment - Survey of the sciences
Navigation
Well pigeons and sea turtles are not the only creatures on this Earth to use a magnetic compass. But I found that sea turtles use inclination angle and intensity to follow certain routes in the ocean, they call these routes gyres. The gyre is known to be warm and have lots of food, but where the gyre is cold there is less food and turtles that follow these routes tend to die. Also a lot of these creatures tend to have a substance in their brains called magnetite, and apparently this is what causes the animals to detect the Earth’s magnetic field.
“By Chris Wickham
LONDON | Wed Oct 3, 2012 3:18pm EDT
(Reuters) - The discovery by NASA rover Curiosity of evidence that water …show more content…
It has happened before - the geological record suggests the magnetic field has reversed every 250,000 years, meaning that, with the last event 800,000 years ago, another would seem to be overdue.
"Magnetic north has migrated more than 1,500 kilometers over the past century," said Conall Mac Niocaill, an earth scientist at Oxford University. "In the past 150 years, the strength of the magnetic field has lessened by 10 percent, which could indicate a reversal is on the cards."
While the effects are hard to predict, the consequences may be enormous. The loss of the magnetic field on Mars billions of years ago put paid to life on the planet if there ever was any, scientists say.
Mac Niocaill said Mars probably lost its magnetic field 3.5-4.0 billion years ago, based on observations that rocks in the planet 's southern hemisphere have magnetization.
The northern half of Mars looks younger because it has fewer impact craters, and has no magnetic structure to speak of, so the field must have shut down before the rocks there were formed, which would have been about 3.8 billion years …show more content…
Research – The scientists had information that they had researched concluding that this shift has happened before, and it was every 250,000 years that this type of shift happens.
Hypothesis – This event happened over 800,000 years ago, meaning that this type of event is long overdue.
Experiment – The strength of the magnetic field has lessened by 10 percent, which could indicate a reversal is on the cards, based on observations that rocks in the planet 's southern hemisphere have magnetization.
Analyze – Earth 's magnetic field has always restored itself but, as it continues to shift and weaken, it will present challenges. In nature, animals which use the field could be mightily confused. Birds may be able to cope because studies have shown they have back-up systems that rely on stars and landmarks, including roads and power lines, to find their way around.
Results – The Earth’s magnetic poles are going to shift again, no one knows exactly when, but it is inevitable. When this occurs, north will become south, and south will become north. We will have to reconfigure all of the world’s compasses, and many if not all life forms that use the Earth’s magnetic core for navigation, will become lost and probably die
Navigation
Well pigeons and sea turtles are not the only creatures on this Earth to use a magnetic compass. But I found that sea turtles use inclination angle and intensity to follow certain routes in the ocean, they call these routes gyres. The gyre is known to be warm and have lots of food, but where the gyre is cold there is less food and turtles that follow these routes tend to die. Also a lot of these creatures tend to have a substance in their brains called magnetite, and apparently this is what causes the animals to detect the Earth’s magnetic field.
“By Chris Wickham
LONDON | Wed Oct 3, 2012 3:18pm EDT
(Reuters) - The discovery by NASA rover Curiosity of evidence that water …show more content…
It has happened before - the geological record suggests the magnetic field has reversed every 250,000 years, meaning that, with the last event 800,000 years ago, another would seem to be overdue.
"Magnetic north has migrated more than 1,500 kilometers over the past century," said Conall Mac Niocaill, an earth scientist at Oxford University. "In the past 150 years, the strength of the magnetic field has lessened by 10 percent, which could indicate a reversal is on the cards."
While the effects are hard to predict, the consequences may be enormous. The loss of the magnetic field on Mars billions of years ago put paid to life on the planet if there ever was any, scientists say.
Mac Niocaill said Mars probably lost its magnetic field 3.5-4.0 billion years ago, based on observations that rocks in the planet 's southern hemisphere have magnetization.
The northern half of Mars looks younger because it has fewer impact craters, and has no magnetic structure to speak of, so the field must have shut down before the rocks there were formed, which would have been about 3.8 billion years …show more content…
Research – The scientists had information that they had researched concluding that this shift has happened before, and it was every 250,000 years that this type of shift happens.
Hypothesis – This event happened over 800,000 years ago, meaning that this type of event is long overdue.
Experiment – The strength of the magnetic field has lessened by 10 percent, which could indicate a reversal is on the cards, based on observations that rocks in the planet 's southern hemisphere have magnetization.
Analyze – Earth 's magnetic field has always restored itself but, as it continues to shift and weaken, it will present challenges. In nature, animals which use the field could be mightily confused. Birds may be able to cope because studies have shown they have back-up systems that rely on stars and landmarks, including roads and power lines, to find their way around.
Results – The Earth’s magnetic poles are going to shift again, no one knows exactly when, but it is inevitable. When this occurs, north will become south, and south will become north. We will have to reconfigure all of the world’s compasses, and many if not all life forms that use the Earth’s magnetic core for navigation, will become lost and probably die