Antarctic volcano: Earth s magnetic field is considered crucial to sustaining life on our planet (Image: Getty)
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This is best understood as the magnetic field resulting from a bar magnet centred within Earth and aligned along its rotational axis.
American Geophysical Union researchers led by Dr Hannah Asefaw have now presented proof the GAD approximation might not represent the paleomagnetic field’s over the past five million years as well as it represents its directions.
Clues to the direction and intensity of the paleomagnetic field at a given moment in Earth s history can be preserved in magnetic grains in rocks formed at that time.