ESA’s Swarm satellite mission has discovered a mysterious magnetic wave that "oscillates every seven years and propagates westward at up to 1500 kilometers (932 mi.) a year."
Credit: ESA
Credit: ESA
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TechTranscript
00:00 [Music]
00:07 Earth's magnetic field protects us from harmful particles in the solar wind.
00:12 It extends deep into space, but is generated deep within our planet.
00:16 [Music]
00:20 By using satellites to measure fluctuations in the magnetic field,
00:24 scientists are gaining new insights into Earth's interior.
00:29 Unlike fixed observatories on Earth's surface,
00:32 satellites can measure the magnetic field both globally and in great detail.
00:37 The magnetic field is generated by swirling liquid iron in the outer core,
00:41 which acts like a giant dynamo.
00:44 Measurements from ESA's Swarm satellites have revealed a new type of wave motion
00:48 mapped at the core-mantle boundary.
00:51 [Music]
00:55 The wave oscillates around every seven years,
00:58 propagating westward at 1,500 kilometers a year.
01:02 [Music]
01:07 Combining these observations with a computer model of the geodynamo
01:11 explains the source of magnetic field variations initially detected on the ground.
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01:36 Future measurements from space could help us understand more about the electrical properties of the lower mantle
01:42 and about the magnetic field from deep in the fluid core.
01:46 [Music]
01:48 This research has important implications for our understanding of the geodynamo,
01:52 the structure of the outer core, and the thermal history of Earth.
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