The possibility that a pole shift will happen in 2012 is a popular idea that will be investigated further. LaViolette's research does point to a link between geocosmic cycles and magnetic field changes. The last really major disruption to Earth's magnetic poles happened around 12,700 years ago, about the same time as the proposed superwave impact. As a result, Earth's north magnetic pole moved to a location in the equatorial mid-Pacific for between ten and fifty years. This event was called the Gothenberg magnetic flip after the city it was discovered in. During this period, Earth's magnetic field fluctuated massively in step with the eleven-year sunspot cycle. This happens to a much smaller extent in a typical sunspot cycle, but during this period the peaks were hundreds of times more intense, approaching the levels found in T-Tauri stars.

For Earth's magnetic poles to fluctuate in this way, the whole of the planet's magnetic field must be overwhelmed by an enormously powerful outside source. A superwave may provide a suitable catalyst for this kind of extreme reaction from the sun. A pole reversal would require a solar flare many hundreds of times larger than the biggest ones recorded in modern times. Larger galactic superwaves may cause complete field reversals, where the magnetic pole actually flips 180 degrees and then stabilizes for some period of time in this position.