sub- project1- inkaba（子- project1 inkaba）.docVIP

Sub-Project 1.2 The Morphology of Geomagnetic Field Variations in the Southern African Region and Links to Global Geomagnetic Field Evolution Participants * Coordinator(s) Institution Name Email address GFZ Potsdam (GFZ) Herman Lühr * Monika Korte Volker Haak Hleuhr@gfz-potsdam.de monka@gfz-potsdam.de Vhaak@gfz-potsdam.de Hermanus Magnetic Observatory (HMO) Peter R Sutcliffe * Pieter B Kotzé psutcliffe@hmo.ac.za pkotze@hmo.ac.za Requested Funding: Total for the 5-year duration project beginning in 2004: EUR 511?000 Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 HMO, SA 60 600 31 900 31 900 31 900 31 900 GFZ 75 600 61 800 61 800 61 800 61 800 TOTAL 136 200 93 700 93 700 93 700 93 700  Summary  The existence of the geomagnetic field has numerous important benefits for society; for example, two such benefits are its shielding against the damaging radiation from space and its implementation in navigation systems. Presently, the magnetic field of the Earth is declining at a phenomenal rate. At the current rate of decline, the dipole field will vanish within about a millennium, which is ten times faster than the natural decay after a complete switch-off of the geodynamo. The rapidly decreasing field has evoked the suggestion that a reversal of the geomagnetic field may have already commenced. Important indicators about the field variations can be found in the detailed structure of the magnetic field at the core/mantle boundary. There have been two prominent patches of reverse magnetic polarity identified which can account for almost all the present day decrease. The most intense reverse patch is beneath the southern tip of Africa. A detailed study of the geomagnetic field in this key region, supported by the global monitoring of the magnetic field from satellites like CHAMP, will help to better explain and predict the secular variation on a larger scale. The southern African subcontinent is therefore