Our planet's dynamic magnetic field can change direction far more quickly than scientists suspected.

But this and other dramatic changes in the magnetic field's direction may happen 10 times faster than once thought — and nearly 100 times faster than recently observed changes, researchers reported in a new study. .

The sloshing of molten iron in the planet's outer core, swirling more than 1,700 miles (2,800 kilometers) below the surface, powers Earth's invisible magnetic field.

Their tandem flows create spots that are strongly magnetic in some places and weaker in others; magnetism's intensity can vary over time and in different locations at the core and on Earth's surface, said lead study author Christopher Davies, an associate professor with the School of Earth and Environment at the University of Leeds in the United Kingdom.

In the molten core, "flow twists and stretches the magnetic field, which in turn pushes back on the flow, resisting the distortions it experiences," Davies told Live Science in an email. .

"So the interaction between flow and field is different from place to place within the core." In other words, as the liquid core "boils," that movement creates ups and downs in the magnetic force in different parts of the core, which in turn shapes how those regions affect the magnetosphere.

In fact, recent observations show that the magnetic field's strength has waned over the past 160 years, suggesting that Earth may be due for a magnetic flip sooner rather than later, Live Science previously reported.

"However, like all models derived from observations at Earth's surface, it can only show us the field down to the top of the core; we cannot 'see' inside the core," Davies added.

Davies and Constable discovered that the magnetic field could change direction by as much as 10 degrees per year in zones where the field was weakening — this rate is about 10 times faster than previous models suggested, and about 100 times faster than changes seen in modern observations

When regions of the molten core reversed direction, the magnetic field direction would change sharply, the simulations showed