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Study Finds Out That Earth Was ‘On The Verge Of Collapse’ 565 Million Years Ago

A study conducted by researchers led by paleomagnetism researcher Richard Bono at the University of Rochester in Quebec revealed that our planet was already ‘on the verge of collapse’ 565 million years ago.

In the study, it was found that the Earth underwent a period of an extremely weakened magnetic field. This field was our planet’s first line of protection, and whose collapse would have caused catastrophic results to the Earth. Without our protective magnetic field, the solar wind would have destroyed the atmosphere and force the surface to receive excessive amounts of harmful radiation.

Luckily for our planet, its core ‘solidified right in the nick of time’. Peter Driscoll from the Carnegie Institution for Science says in a News & Views article, “the nucleation of the inner core may have occurred right in the nick of time to recharge the geodynamo and save Earth’s magnetic shield.”

According to Driscoll, scientists previously thought that the weak magnetic field was caused by “rapid tectonic motion, hyper-frequent polarity reversals, and even an equatorial dipole.”

“A young inner core is consistent with thermal history models of the Earth9–12 that predict a large transfer of heat from the core to the mantle due, indirectly, to upward revisions to the thermal conductivity of the core,” he says.

This study is beneficial to future studies, especially those regarding alien life, as it gives a glimpse as to how planets can sustain different life forms.

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