Certain neurons in pigeon brains encode the direction and intensity of Earth’s magnetic field, providing the common birds with an internal global positioning system, according to a new study.

The findings in the study, published in the latest Science Express, likely apply to other birds as well.

“We have found cells in the (pigeon) brain that signal the direction, intensity and polarity of an applied magnetic field,” co-author David Dickman, a Baylor College of Medicine neuroscientist, told Discovery News. “These three qualities can be used by the brain to compute heading information, like a compass, and latitude on the Earth surface (location between the magnetic North and South Poles).”

“It is possible that magnetic intensity could also be used to give the bird longitude (East-West location) through learned associations of differing regional variations along the Earth surface,” he added. “Together, these cells could form the basis of determining heading direction and position according to a brain representation of a magnetic Earth surface map.”

Pigeons don’t look like geniuses, but they are as good at math as monkeys, suggesting that perhaps all bird varieties have numerical abilities.

So when scientists tell us a magnetic pole shift will be harmless, they are being too quickly dismissive. Imagine 100 billion birds who, by varying degress, suddenly don’t know where they are going! I doubt a single scientist has consider what sort of butterfly effect this might have on the rest of the world.

Magnetic Field & the GPS of Pigeons is a post from: 2012 Blog

©2012 2012 Blog. All Rights Reserved.

Planetary magnetic fields are generated by flows in the hot, liquid iron cores of the planets. Measurements made by Mariner 10 in 1974/75 showed that Mercury also has a magnetic field. According to the standard models, the dynamo effect in its metal core should generate similar field strengths to those on Earth. Mercury’s magnetic field is 150 times weaker than that of our planet, however. This has recently been confirmed by the Nasa space probe Messenger.

How can the large discrepancy in the field strength be explained? This question has now been answered by a group headed by Karl-Heinz Glassmeier at the Technische Universität Braunschweig. The solar wind – a constant stream of charged particles – plays a significant role. At an average distance from the Sun of only 58 million kilometres – around one third of the distance of the Earth – Mercury is much more exposed to these particles.

“We must keep in mind that Mercury stongly interacts with the surrounding solar wind,” says Daniel Heyner, lead author of the article published in Science and doctoral student at the International Max Planck Research School (IMPRS) in Katlenburg-Lindau. This interaction drives strong electrical currents in the magnetosphere of the planet, whose magnetic fields counteract the internal dynamo effect.

It’s really hard to gauge from the article whether a short-term change in the solar wind could cause our magnetic poles to flip, but it sounds like it could at least be the trigger. Or to put it another way, a massive spike of particles from the Sun is unlikely to have zero affect of the core of Earth.

Solar Storm Causes Pole Shift? is a post from: 2012 Blog

©2012 2012 Blog. All Rights Reserved.

Again, this information comes from Electric Universe expert James McCanney, via SOTT.

So the idea here is that the entire Earth-Moon-Sun system works as a whole to generate the Earth’s unique magnetic field. The solar wind, the Moon, the ionosphere layers (which in turn cause the jet streams), the crustal layer, the molten layer and the very core of the Earth are all part of this system. Each layer builds on itself. The interesting part of all of this is that it’s not just the interior of the Earth that forms the magnetic field, as most geologists suppose, the system is ultimately at the mercy of external forces in the solar system (the Sun and the Moon predominantly). McCanney believes external forces are likely to cause the periodic shifts in the Earth’s magnetic orientation.

And what sort of external force could cause a magnetic pole shift?

According to McCanney there would have to be a highly charged comet passing near the Earth to cause a complete flip of the Earth’s magnetic field.

This gives us two possibilities for a scientific prediction of a magnetic pole shift being behind the Mayan end date of 2012:

1) Observations of thousands of years noticed a long-term comet, due to return circa 2012. The best candidate for this, that we know of, is Comet Caesar.

2) Observations of thousands of years noticed changes in the Sun, or even in the Northern Lights (a by-product of the Sun), or some other Sun indicator like droughts, significant enough to cause a pole shift. Because the magnetic fields of the Sun and Earth are constantly on the move, a new combination could cause a shift without requiring an external force.

Either way, you would expect that as a lead up to a pole shift, due to electric or magnetic factors, we would see earth changes.

Comet Creates Magnetic Pole Shift? is a post from: 2012 Blog

©2012 2012 Blog. All Rights Reserved.

“a new study of ancient copper mines in southern Israel found that the strength of the magnetic field could double and then fall back down in less than 20 years.” This could be local, or global, they don’t seem sure. But it is certainly something scientists previously did not believe possible.

Why build bunkers when you can protect an entire city with a massive dome?

The concept would supposedly keep the city safe from a category-5 hurricane.

Tunguska was not the only explosion of its type last century – there’s actually a list of them at Wikipedia. A good candidate to add to that list is a powerful blast that struck British Guyana in 1935. An expedition “reported seeing an area some miles across where the trees had been broken off about 25 feet above their bases“, while numerous people witnessed a “large meteoroid/small asteroid entry“. One day a town or city will be the victim, and we can’t stop it. Hopefully 2012 will not be a time where these events become commonplace.

Rapid Magnetic Changes / Houston Dome / Another Tunguska is a post from: 2012 Blog

©2012 2012 Blog. All Rights Reserved.

The famously predicted “earth changes” could finally be in effect. As of now the various natural disasters could just be a statistical blip, but give us a few more (watch this week, and June 1 through July 1) and not only will many prophets appear spot on, but the world will start to panic – although I’m unsure of any short-term measurement for this, except for polling folk.

So if it continues, what is the cause??

a) Patrick Geryl suggests the Sun will be becoming increasingly erratic, leading to a crustal displacement in 2012.
b) The next solar maximum could be big, and increased flares and CMEs could cause all sorts of bother to our planet. Experts keep changing their minds over how big or small the next maximum will be…
c) I’ve noticed an increased in likelihood of events around full moons and especially eclipses. Gravity between the Sun, Moon and Earth cannot have changed, so the other possibility is magnetic fields. The Moon’s field is negligible, and the Earth’s is changing but perhaps not rapidly enough to be causing recent natural disasters. The magnetic fields of our Sun are not only poorly understood, and powerful, but an ancient culture could have conceivably noticed the symptoms of changes to the Sun’s magnetic field(s).
d) Comet Elenin – while it is too insignificant to bother us via classic physics, an Electric Universe could have it creating havoc…
e) Jim Berkland blames recent changes in our magnetic field. He says that the approaching seismic window is one of the largest in many years… developing between the 19th to the 26th of March 2011.
f) Rotational Bending according to James Bowles: The sun and moon are constantly tugging away, testing the attachment. Eventually something has to give. The cracks might appear first…

For the keen survivalist none of this is relevant. You should already be in your safe spot, and staying there until the symptoms dissipate. Any lesser action will compromise your potential to survive.

Regarding Current Upheavals… is a post from: 2012 Blog

©2012 2012 Blog. All Rights Reserved.

Numbers can be presented in many ways. But given that the movement of the magnetic north pole is in a singular direction, all that matters is the speed. This graph is compelling:

Unlike climate change data, this is the entire available data, no selective windows here.

This photo is doing the rounds:

It looks photo-shopped to me. And it looks bigger than anything of such uniform shape would be. And I figure South Pole folk would immediately recognise whatever is was. Still, has an un-spammy source:
http://blogs.abc.net.au/news/2011/01/a-chip-off-the-old-block.html

Meanwhile TV physicist Michio Kaku was interviewed by CNN, where he mentions the 10-inch ground swell at Yellowstone, which may or may not be indicative of an eruption in the near future. When Yellowstone blows, it will kill with a 500 mile radius, and his advice to people is “run”.

Migrating Pole / Wood on Iceberg / Kaku on Yellowstone is a post from: 2012 Blog

©2012 2012 Blog. All Rights Reserved.

This story has caused a big stir online, leading many people to jump to the conclusion that the magnetic poles are shifting, and doom is near.

The runways have large numbers visible to the pilots when they land the planes. The numbers are used for the pilots to line up their compasses for a safe decent and landing.

The earth’s magnetic poles have changed so much that the 180 degree reading is now 190 degrees, and this could lead to problems, especially as the poles continue to move. Tampa Airport has been forced to shut down and re-do all these numbers on the runways.

Suddenly there is debate about what harm a pole shift could cause, and very little information about whether the poles really are shifting. Here’s some quick info:

• The magnetic North Pole has been on the move ever since we first pinpointed it, and is currently moving at 25 miles per year. The rate of movement is accelerating, but this is not a pole shift, just business as usual. It can also vary by 50 miles each day, so its position is an average.
• The exact location hasn’t been officially stated for a few years, so it is always possible that the government knows it is moving faster still, and just hasn’t let on. However, millions of people have a compass at home and know roughly which way north is. We’d soon hear about it if compasses started pointing the wrong way.
• There are anomalies all over the world, so in some places compasses are not accurate
• Every five years, federal agencies tabulate and publish a value called magnetic variation …If there is a change of more than three degrees at any given airport, then runways need to be renumbered
• London’s Stansted Airport did the same in 2009

So the Tampa news is only news because of the 2012 meme, and in particular the pole shift angle. One online newspaper even quoted Patrick Geryl’s article Pole Shift & Pole Reversal in 2012:

“…life after a polar reversal is nothing but horror, pure unimaginable horror. All securities you presently have at hand, like – amongst others – food, transport, and medicines, will have disappeared in one big blow, dissolved into nothingness. As will our complete civilization. It cannot be more horrifying than this; worse than the worst nightmare. More destructive than a nuclear war in which the entire global arsenal of nuclear weapons has been deployed in one blow.”

Tampa Airport and The Magnetic Pole Shift is a post from: 2012 Blog

©2012 2012 Blog. All Rights Reserved.

Suddenly a candidate for 2012 becomes more feasible… if only we can work out a way the Mayans could have predicted it!

Previous evidence for a high-speed pole shift (in 1995) was dismissed by most scientists because it was an anomaly. Now that more evidence has emerged, it is time for geologists to accept that a magnetic pole shift can affect us without notice.

This lava, Bogue says, initially started to cool and then was heated again within a year as a fresh lava flow buried it. The fresh lava re-magnetized the crystals within the rock below, causing them to reorient themselves a whopping 53 degrees. At the rate the lava would have cooled, says Bogue, that would mean the magnetic field was changing direction at approximately 1 degree per week. (Read the full news item at Wired.com.)

Still scientists are clinging to a slow reversal, rather than an on/off switch. 53 degrees of difference between one year and the next does not necessarily mean it took a whole year. If there were three data points, then a rate of change can be deduced. But with two, it is impossible to determine the rate of change. It’s like saying I was asleep at midnight, and awake at 7am, therefore it takes me 7 hours to slowly awake.

But apocalyptic SyFy channel movies to the contrary, nobody should worry about waking up one morning to geomagnetic havoc, says Bogue. “To geologists a polarity reversal is a nearly instantaneous thing that changes a global feature of the Earth — it’s really a spectacular phenomenon,” he says. “But if you were alive when it was happening, it probably wouldn’t be that big a deal.”

No big deal! Well, all GPS systems will fail, alongside any equipment that depends on it. We are also likely to discover that many more animals are affected that expected, and who knows what a planet full of disoriented beings would be like! Oh, and don’t forget that minor detail of the protection we receive from the geomagnetic field – if the pole shift involves that shield disappearing for a day, anything out in the sun could suffer terribly.

New Evidence for Rapid Magnetic Pole Shift is a post from: 2012 Blog

©2012 2012 Blog. All Rights Reserved.

New research suggests that our magnetic poles have sometimes been at the equator. Even more interesting for anyone who thinks a pole shift is possible in 2012 – this switch occurred multiple times in a 50 million year period. And there is lack of intermediary polar locations – they were either at the poles we have today, or at the equator. This suggests a sudden switch.

Any sudden movement of the magnetic poles could cause problems, but I’m not aware of any reason why the new pole location matters – the change and the speed of the change are the important factors. The change is important because anything that currently involves the North pole actually being at the North pole will fall over. That would primarily be locational tools that humans use (GPS, compasses). The speed is critical. Slow is preferable, because fast will most likely leave us without a shield against cosmic radiation.

Magnetic Poles at the Equator? is a post from: 2012 Blog

©2012 2012 Blog. All Rights Reserved.

There has been considerable difficulty trying to determine if a magnetic pole shift will occur in 2012. The underlying problem is that orthodox science has not been able to work out how our planet’s magnetic field ticks, and all we have seen is guesswork.

According to Wikipedia:

There is no clear theory as to how the geomagnetic reversals might have occurred. Some scientists have produced models for the core of the Earth wherein the magnetic field is only quasi-stable and the poles can spontaneously migrate from one orientation to the other over the course of a few hundred to a few thousand years. Other scientists propose that the geodynamo first turns itself off, either spontaneously or through some external action like a comet impact, and then restarts itself with the magnetic “North” pole pointing either North or South.

Current theories are not capable of producing predictions of when the next reversal might occur. Consequently we have no available science that can support any pole shift predictions for 2012.

Until now…

Earth’s magnetic field, long thought to be generated by molten metals swirling around its core, may instead be linked to ocean currents, according to controversial new research published this week.

It suggests that the movements of such volumes of salt water around the world have been seriously underestimated by scientists as a source of magnetism.

If proven, the research would revolutionise geophysics, the study of the Earth’s physical properties and behaviour, in which the idea that magnetism originates in a molten core is a central tenet.

The Times article goes on to say:

The salt in seawater allows it to conduct electricity, meaning it generates electrical and magnetic fields as it moves.

Scientists have always linked variation with turbulence in the outer core, but Ryskin suggests it actually correlates with changes in ocean circulation. In the north Atlantic, for example, changes in the strength of currents were matched by sharp changes in magnetic fields.

One idea is that changes in ocean circulation may explain the curious reversals shown by Earth’s magnetic field, in which the north and south magnetic poles suddenly flip over. This last happened 780,000 years ago.

This could also be linked to tectonic plate movements that have shifted the world’s land masses around the globe, forcing ocean currents to adopt entirely new routes.

If Ryskin is right, then climate change, predicted to alter the strength and course of ocean currents, could also alter the planet’s magnetic field.

…some other physicists have been quick to recognise its implications. Raymond Shaw, professor of atmospheric physics at Michigan Technological University, said it could make “the ruling paradigm of geophysics irrelevant”.

Suddenly we find ourselves in a situation where the impact of global warming & climate change might now include a magnetic reversal.

Oceans Might Cause Magnetic Pole Shifts is a post from: 2012 Blog

©2012 2012 Blog. All Rights Reserved.