evidence: Some theorists suggest that having no magnetic field will open the earth's surface to dangerous solar radiation that potentially might lead to global extinction of life. However, there is currently no statistical correlation that can be pointed to in the fossil record to verify this. The last reversal occurred about 780,000 years ago, and there is no evidence to show that there were mass species extinctions at that time. Other scientists argue that the magnetic field does not vanish during reversals, but merely grows weaker for a time. Although we have at least 2,000 years to wonder about it, if a reversal were to occur today, one obvious effect would be mass disruption to communications systems. Much the way solar storms can affect satellite and radio signals, a magnetic field reversal would have the same effect, though to a much more pronounced degree. Cite this Article Format mla apa chicago Your Citation Rosenberg, Matt. "Reversal of the Earth's Magnetic Poles." ThoughtCo, Apr. 5, 2023, thoughtco.com/what-is-magnetic-reversal-1435340. Rosenberg, Matt. (2023, April 5). Reversal of the Earth's Magnetic Poles. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-magnetic-reversal-1435340 Rosenberg, Matt. "Reversal of the Earth's Magnetic Poles." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-magnetic-reversal-1435340 (accessed October 9, 2024). copy citation