There's been a whole slew of research showing that animals can sense or use the earth's magnetic fields as an internal compass. (When do they find out humans can sometimes sense these fields also?) Keep on reading to see some of this research.
Cattle shown to align north-south- BBC News 25 August 2008 (Yes- we all thought we noticed this as kids driving on one of those long trips in the Central Valley- who knew?)
Pigeons 'sense magnetic field'- BBC News 24 November, 2004 (Ah- what makes homing pigeons 'home in')
Magnetic field puts bats on track- BBC News 7 December 2006
Whales 'led astray by magnetism'- BBC News 13 May, 2005 - +solar activity= magnetic field disturbances= confusion in whale's navigation!
Sharks respond to magnetic lines- BBC News 15 December, 2004
About magnetic fields from NOAA
I am sending a news release regarding Earth's magnetic field. Please contact me if you have questions.
Dennis
Earth’s Magnetic Field Is Produced By An External Dynamo System, Not An Internal Dynamo.
Researcher finds that Earth’s magnetic field is not produced by an internal dynamo. Nor is it produced by ocean current. The dynamo is outside the Planet! New findings by independent researcher, Dennis Brooks, show that Earth’s magnetic field and the planet itself are components of a complex dynamo system, which surrounds the planet. The planet and its magnetic field are part of the dynamo.
According to this new theory, no internal dynamo or ocean current helps in producing or maintaining the magnetic field because other planets with magnetic fields do not have ocean currents or iron cores.
Image by NASA
Each planet does not have a unique way of producing its magnetic field. The magnetic field of each planet is produced by a planetary dynamo system and its ring current.
For many years researchers thought that a similar dynamo system was within the planet and that this internal dynamo generated the magnetic field. However, we know now that it is too hot inside the planet to produce and maintain a magnetic field there.
The planetary dynamo system is composed of a magnetosphere, the planet, the magnetic field, radiation belts, ring current, and charged particles from the solar wind. The planet is the central component of the system and its rotation plays an important part in operating the dynamo and generating ring current. The magnetic field is generated by the system’s ring current, which is made up of charged particles. The magnetic field captures even more charged particles and brings them into the dynamo system as fuel. Everything works together.
Earth’s inner and outer core simply cannot provide the fuel a dynamo system needs. If earth’s dynamo had to depend on energy from the planet for fuel, the entire planet would have been completely consumed many years ago.
To learn more about Earth’s magnetic field, Visit
http://sites.google.com/site/earthsmagneticfield/
Very interesting. Thanks for adding this information!
D.
Thank you for the information. I often read here...