A study of a recently compiled historical database of equatorial auroral records from Seoul, South Korea finds that although the frequent aurorae observed during 1500-1800 are consistent with the established locally weak magnetic field in the West Pacific, strong fluctuations in the record centered around 1590 and 1720 suggest changes in the regional magnetic field that are not captured by current geomagnetic models and that the West Pacific Anomaly may be an historical analog to the current South Atlantic Anomaly, the localized weak magnetic field strength of which leads to damage to low-Earth orbit satellites.
Article #20-26080: "Equatorial auroral records reveal dynamics of the paleo-West Pacific geomagnetic anomaly," by Fei He et al.
MEDIA CONTACTS: Yong Wei, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, CHINA; email: weiy@mail.iggcas.ac.cn ; Stefano Maffei, University of Leeds, UNITED KINGDOM; email: S.Maffei@leeds.ac.uk
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Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences