CNN —Earth’s magnetic field plays a key role in making our planet habitable. However, Earth’s magnetic field almost collapsed 591 million years ago, and this change, paradoxically, may have played a pivotal role in the blossoming of complex life, new research has found. The discovery of the sustained weakening of Earth’s magnetic field also helped resolve an enduring geological mystery about when Earth’s solid inner core formed. Shuhai Xiao/Virginia TechUncovering the magnetic field’s near collapseThe intensity of Earth’s magnetic field is known to fluctuate over time, and crystals preserved in rock contain tiny magnetic particles that lock in a record of the intensity of Earth’s magnetic field. The research on the intensity of Earth’s magnetic field suggests that the age of Earth’s inner core is on the younger end of that timescale, solidifying after 565 million years ago and allowing Earth’s magnetic shield to bounce back.

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Persons: “, ”, John Tarduno, Xiao, Tarduno, Shuhai Xiao, ” Tarduno, Peter Driscoll, wasn’t, ” Driscoll Organizations: CNN, University of Rochester, Environment, Virginia Tech, Laboratory, Carnegie Institution for Science Locations: New York, South Australia, Virginia, Quebec, Brazil, South Africa, Washington ,, Newfoundland, Canada