The Earth’s Magnetic Field, Topography

& Tides ENVS 522 Our Dynamic Earth

Mike Petterson
Please view in slide show and
change slide when narration ends
Learning Outcomes
• The Earth’s magnetic field
• How the Earth produces its magnetic field
• Van Allen Belts,
• The magnetosphere and how this protects the earth
• Magnetic polar wandering
• Magnetic reversals & their record in the ocean crust
• Shape of the Earth
• Gross topography of the Earth
• How to represent the Earth on maps
• Appearance of the Moon from Earth
• Tides, their cause, variations, & impacts
• Spring, Neap & King tides
 Study Resources

• Marshak, Portrait of a Planet, (Section 3.4 Paleomagnetism); Tides Section 18.4,

pp686-693 &718-719
• Plummer, Physical Geology, E Book, Chapter 17 (Earths Interior & Geophysical
Properties) 902-949: https
://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/aut/detail.action?docID=5662628
• https
://www.gns.cri.nz/Home/Our-Science/Land-and-Marine-Geoscience/Earth-s-Mag
netic-Field
: GNS (NZ) magnetic field website
• https://web.ua.es/docivis/magnet/earths_magnetic_field2.html: magnetic field
website
• https://www.linz.govt.nz/sea/tides/introduction-tides/cause-and-nature-tides:
Land NZ tidal web information
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6IyRE9azhwQ: UNSW video on tides
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rkfk9TJ52I: short factual tide video
 Northern Lights:
Charged Particles close to Magnetic Poles

Earths Magnetic Field:

Dipolar magnetic field (like a bar magnet)

Magnetic poles make an angle of c. 10 degrees with geographic poles
Produced by a dynamo effect with the earth’s core & earth’s rotation
Forms a magnetosphere around the earth: extends up to 200x earth radius
This protects the earth from radiation and charged particles & deflects solar wind
Forms the Van Allen Belts (contain highly high energy ions)
Magnetic poles move or ‘wander’ with time (polar wandering)
Polarity reverses over time (south becomes north & north becomes south
Magnetosphere & Van Allen Belts as viewed from space
TheMagnetosphere
Earth’s Magnetic
& deflection of solar wind Field
• The slow stirring of the metallic outer core inside the
Earth creates a magnetic field.
• The liquid flow moves about so the magnetic field also
shifts. Magnetic north changes from year to year.
• Sometimes it even stops and reverses direction as on
the right.
• The magnetic field helps protect the Earth from high
energy charged particles from the Sun.
The Magnetic Field is Constantly Moving
The North Magnetic Pole is also moving

https://www.nature.com
/articles/d41586-019-00007-1
Magnetic Isochrons

Magnetic
Reversals
Shape & Projection of Earth & Tides
 Marianas Trench
Everest from Rombuk, Tibet

Topographic Extremes

Ocean Depths
What is the actual shape of the earth?
• It’s not a perfect sphere. It’s a bit squashed
because the spinning pushes it out at the
equator and it has a few other bumps
and hollows.
• Variations from a perfect Geoid
or theoretical spherical earth

• Flattening at the poles (oblate spheroid)

This is a
highly exaggerated view it looks like a perfect
sphere from space:
Longitude and Latitude and other lines
Mapping the Earth
• Problem …… How do you represent a 3 dimensional spheroid surface
on a flat piece of paper?
Mercator Projection:

Produced by Flemish
cartographer in 1569

This projection maintains angles

and linear scales in all directions.

It preserves shape

It distorts size: Greenland

appears huge, and Africa small,
relative to their true area:
equatorial regions are
compressed and polar regions
enlarged
Lambert Cylindrical Equal Area Projection: undistorted at the Equator but rapidly distorts towards the poles

First drafted in 1772 by Swiss Mathematician Johann Lambert.

Sometimes used by Aid Agencies to emphasis the size of tropical countries

Down Under Map

Equal Area

&

Mercator

Projections
 Sydney
Christchurch

Spitzbergen

Antarctica
Ecuador Tibet

Iceland
UK
Different Views of the
Moon from around
the Globe
Tides
note the movement of the
moon in the animation.
Tide changes go via the following stages:
Bay of Fundy
• Sea level rises over several hours,
Canada:
covering the intertidal zone; flood tide.
16m tidal range
• The water rises to its highest level,
reaching high tide.
Open Ocean:
• Sea level falls over several hours,
revealing the intertidal zone; ebb tide. 0.6m tidal range
• The water stops falling, reaching low
tide. Enclosed seas
• Tides are usually 2 a day (semidiurnal) e.g.
12 hours and 25 minutes apart but Mediterranean
depending on the coastline and location Very small tidal
they can be one a day (diurnal).
range
King Tides in
Atoll Islands:
Kiribati
&
Marshall Islands
Tidal Zones
 Self Assessment Questions
• Why do we think the core produces the Earth’s magnetic field?
• Name two reasons why life on Earth should be grateful to the Earth’s
magnetic field?
• How would you describe the gross topographic features of the Earth?
• How does the Earth’s magnetic field leave its record on the ocean
floor?
• How are tides formed? What is the difference between spring & neap
tides?
• What is a King Tide? Why are ocean atolls particularly affected by
King Tides?
• Which parts of earth experience the highest tides and why?