[Smokin' Joe]

Rather than a volcanically induced event, I would be far more inclined to believe such could be caused by a significant impact from space.

During the Cold War, there was even speculation that all-out nuclear war could tilt the Earth on its axis and cause massive climate changes as a result.

The essential question with this type of data is one of whether the rotational axis of the planet changes or just the magnetic field shifts. The latter is known to have occurred in the past (polar reversals).

While not fully understanding if this could be so, I am curious if a major impact (Ni/Fe) might cause a temporary shift in magnetic field.

[mkmensinger]

I recall reading an estimate by an MIT physicist that if all the nuclear weapons in the world were set off at the same place and time, the resulting explosion would be short by a factor of one trillion in order to move the earth one foot.

[knarf]

I remember thinking, while in Junior High school, that nuclear explosions .. especially those tests done underground, must have an effect on the planet.
And how did I come to this brilliant deduction?
By playing with a balloon .. blowing it up and letting it go to flubber around the room.

Now as an adult I wonder .. Could the planetary agreement to limit or stop altogether nuclear activity be the result of irrefutable data from all soueces that shows we just might be 'in the balance', so to speak?