The near-collapse of Earth's magnetic field may have contributed to complex life An unusual reduction in the strength of the Earth's magnetic field between 591 and 565 million years ago coincided with a significant increase in the oxygen levels in the atmosphere and oceans, according to international researchers who say this may have increased the complexity of life on Earth. The team analysed the magnetic properties of 21 plagioclase crystals, a common material in the Earth's crust, extracted from a 591-million-year-old rock formation in Brazil. Analysis of the crystals showed that, at their point of formation, the Earth's magnetic field was the weakest ever recorded, and the authors propose that the weakening of the magnetic field may have allowed more hydrogen to escape to space, increasing the oxygen percentage in the earth's atmosphere, which is believed to have supported the evolution of some of the earliest complex organisms.
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