地磁氣의 갑작스런 역전(逆轉) 가능성

 

地磁氣의 갑작스런 역전(逆轉) 가능성       地磁氣의 변화, 고래 등 동물 떼죽음의 원인 金泌材       전 세계에서 기상이변이 일상화되고 있는 가운데 지구 자기장(磁氣場)의 이동이 가속화(加速化)되고 있는 것으로 나타났다. 이로 인해 과거 찰스 햅굿 교수가 예견했던 지구 자기장의 갑작스런 역전(Pole-Shift) 현상이 발생할 수도 있다는 분석이 잇따라 제기되고 있다.   플로리다 탐파 국제공항의 경우 올해 초 일부 활주로가 폐쇄되기도 했다. 이유는 자북극(磁北極) 위치의 변화로 인해 여객기의 네비게이션에 오차가 발생했기 때문이다. 결국 공항 측은 지자기 변동으로 인해 활주로를 변경했다. 지구 자기장의 변화와 이에 따른 영향은 최근 들어 미국의 과학자들 사이에서 많은 연구가 진행되고 있다.   미국의 ‘국립지리물리연구센터’(NOAA)는 1590년 이후의 자극점(磁極点) 위치 변화와 관련된 데이터를 보관하고 있다. NOAA는 이 자료를 기초로 지난 420년 동안의 磁極点 이동 속도와 비교해 지난 10~20년 동안의 磁極点 이동 속도가 훨씬 더 빨라진 것을 확인했다.   NOAA는 현재 磁極点의 이동 속도가 50년 전과 비교해 거의 2배나 높아진 것으로 보고 있다. 현재 磁極点의 이동 속도는 년간 55킬로미터로 2000년대 들어서만 70킬로미터를 이동한 것으로 나타났다. 지구 자기장의 역전 방향은 지난 150년 동안 동일한 방향으로 진행되어 왔다. 자극점의 경우 북극에서는 현재 북극해에서 러시아 방향으로 진행되고 있다. 남극에서는 남극대륙에서 뉴질랜드 방향으로 진행되고 있는 것으로 알려졌다.   (2011.8.11) Shifting of the Poles by Patrick J. Kiger 美내셔널지오그래픽 인터넷 리뷰 A pole shift is sometimes confused with a pole reversal, in which the magnetic poles switch places, so that north becomes south and vice-versa. From studying the magnetism of ancient rocks, scientists have learned that pole reversals have occurred at irregular intervals throughout the Earth's history, on average about once every 300,000 years.   The last was about 780,000 years ago. According to University of California professor Gary Glatzmaier, who has modeled the phenomenon with a supercomputer, pole reversals are the result of the movement of molten iron in the Earth's outer core, which can cause twists in the planet's magnetic field.   Pole reversals take place over thousands of years, during which time magnetic poles can show up in strange places — the magnetic north pole, for example, might suddenly show up on the island of Tahiti in the Pacific.   Recently, some have pointed to magnetic field disturbances an area known as the South Atlantic Anomaly as a possible sign of an upcoming pole reversal — which conceivably could even occur in 2012, to the likely delight of apocalyptic believers — though scientists warn that it is not likely.   If a pole reversal did happen, according to Stanford University geophysicist Norm Sleep, it might cause some strange phenomena. Auroras would be visible at the equator instead of the poles, compasses would cease to be reliable, and radio transmissions would be adversely effected. Cosmic rays might pierce the Earth's atmosphere more easily. Overall, though, life would still go on.   While the idea is dismissed by scientists, some believe that a sudden pole shift could slosh the oceans from their basins in massive tsunamis. A physical pole shift, in contrast, would be triggered by uneven weight distribution in the Earth's interior or somewhere upon its surface, such as the formation of a giant volcano far from the equator.   In theory, the force of the Earth's rotation would pull the heavy object away from the axis around which the planet spins. If that weight became sufficiently imbalanced, the Earth would tilt and rotate itself until the weight was redistributed near the equator.   In the process, entire continents might shift from the tropics to the Arctic, at a rate far faster than the continents normally drift due to plate tectonics. The potentially catastrophic effects of a planetary weight imbalance was contemplated as far back as 1842 by French mathematician Joseph Adhémar, who believed that erosion of the polar ice cap could cause the ice to suddenly collapse into the ocean, shifting the Earth's center of gravity and causing a massive tsunami that would wreak widespread carnage.   In the 1870s, scientists developed the theory that periodic pole shifts due to the rise of new continents were the cause of ice ages.   Astronomer and mathematician George Darwin — whose father, Charles, developed the evolutionary theory of natural selection — ultimately disproved that explanation by calculating that a land mass one-quarter the size of the Northern Hemisphere would have to rise 10,000 feet out of the sea — the height of the Tibetan plateau, the highest spot on Earth — just to move the pole by one-and-half degrees.   The pole shift idea would resurface again. In 1948, an electrical engineer named Hugh Auchincloss Brown garnered a New York Times headline by claiming that the Antarctic ice cap was increasing dangerously in size, and it threatened to tip over the planet 'just as you might roll a pumpkin over so that a frosted side could thaw out in the sun.' Brown claimed that the New York area might find itself immersed thirteen miles beneath the ocean surface.   He advocated blasting away much of the ice cap with atomic weapons to save civilization, and spent years bombarding the press, members of Congress, and scientists with written proof of his theory, to no avail.