About this Research Topic
Earth’s magnetic field has protected our planet for billions of years and provides key insights into the internal workings of our home planet. The geomagnetic field varies in distinctive fashions across a broad spectrum of timescales from milliseconds to millions of years. To understand these variations, Earth scientists utilize a diverse arsenal of tools from hi-tech satellites, such as the Swarm array, to archeological pottery and geological materials, through to advanced numerical simulations that harness the power of supercomputers. Armed with these tools we tackle problems related to the ancient magnetic field, how the geodynamo works and what this means for modern life. Despite being studied for more than 400 years, there are many unanswered questions about the geomagnetic field: When did the field begin? When did the inner core solidify? What happens during a reversal? How fast can our field change? How will our protective barrier change in the future?
This Research Topic brings together these varied approaches to present our latest understanding of the workings of the geodynamo and the geomagnetic field across all timescales. We encourage submissions on topics that include dynamo theory and simulation, and advances in geo- and paleomagnetism. Contributions that link deep Earth behavior to geo-/paleomagnetic observations are particularly welcome. This Research Topic is not limited solely to these research areas and other submissions are welcome as we aim to bring together the whole spectrum of geodynamo variations and controls, from its earliest evolution through to modern-day generation of high-fidelity observations. We encourage authors to submit contributions that cover the range of article styles of Frontiers (reviews, perspectives, and research articles).
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.