Laschamp event
The Laschamp event was a short reversal of the Earth's magnetic field. It occurred 41,400 years ago during the end of the Last Glacial Period and was first recognised in the late 1960s as a geomagnetic reversal recorded in the Laschamps lava flows in the Clermont-Ferrand district of France.
The magnetic excursion has since been demonstrated in geological archives from many parts of the world. The period of reversed magnetic field was approximately 440 years, with the transition from the normal field lasting approximately 250 years. The reversed field was 75% weaker, whereas the strength dropped to only 5% of the current strength during the transition. This reduction in geomagnetic field strength resulted in more cosmic rays reaching the Earth, causing greater production of the cosmogenic isotopes beryllium 10 and carbon 14.
The Australian Research Council is funding research to analyze a kauri tree uncovered in New Zealand in 2019 that, according to carbon-dating, was alive during this period.
The Laschamp event was the first known geomagnetic excursion and remains the most thoroughly studied among the known geomagnetic excursions.
