Study suggests weakening of the field resulted in reduced protection from UV rays, leading to mammalian extinctions on Earth.
A weakening of Earth's magnetic field may have been involved in the extinction of the Neanderthals, scientists have suggested. A weak magnetic field, they say, could have led to reduced protection from ultraviolet radiation. Eventually, this could have led to health problems that contributed to the decline of our ancient relatives.
The magnetic field is in a constant state of change. It moves around, gets stronger and weaker and occasionally reverses its poles. When this happens, the magnetic field gets weaker. During one reversal that took place around 41,000 years ago—known as the Laschamp event—the magnetic field is estimated to have fallen to just five percent of its current strength.
In the study, the researchers say two extinction events—one 40,000 years ago and another 13,000 years ago—both appear to have coincided with periods where Earth's magnetic field had weakened. By looking at the past 200,000 years, they say the timings of branching episodes of the human family tree can also be linked to the magnetic field, suggesting UV radiation has played a big role in our evolutionary history.
The research has limitations. Dates relating to the weakening of the magnetic field and extinctions are not exact, so correlating the two with a high level of confidence is difficult. Furthermore, the role of AhR in relation to the effects of UV radiation in mammals is still being investigated.
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