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Earth’s Magnetic Poles & Their Shifting Locations

maximus otter

Recovering policeman
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Planet Earth is alive. Deep beneath its skin, its life blood — rivers of molten iron — pulse around its core. And this mobile iron is what generates the magnetic field that causes auroras — and keeps us alive.

But, according to the science journal Nature, something strange is going on deep down below.

It’s causing the magnetic North Pole to ‘skitter’ away from Canada, towards Siberia.

“The magnetic pole is moving so quickly that it has forced the world’s geomagnetism experts into a rare move,” Nature reports.

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On January 30, the World Magnetic Model — which governs modern navigation systems — is due to undergo an urgent update.

This model is a vital component of systems ranging from geopositioning systems used to navigate ships through to smartphone trackers and maps.

The current model was expected to be valid until 2020. But the magnetic pole began to shift so quickly, it was realised in 2018 that the model had to be fixed — now.

“They realised that it was so inaccurate that it was about to exceed the acceptable (safe) limit for navigational errors,” Nature reports.

The movement of the north magnetic pole has been the object of study since 1831. Initially, it was tracked moving into the Arctic Ocean at a rate of about 15km each year. But, since the mid 1990s, it has picked up speed.

It’s now shifting at a rate of about 55km a year.

But another recent study has revealed the Earth’s magnetic field has been acting up now for some 1000 years.

Why the magnetic field is shifting so dramatically is unknown.

https://www.news.com.au/technology/...y/news-story/341c92307a6b19d25b38836c6097be9d

maximus otter
 
Is the Southern Magnetic Pole shifting at the same rate (indicating a pole reversal?) or is the magnetic field becoming skewed?
 
Earth's magnetic north is shifting at an 'unprecedented' rate of 30 miles a year - throwing satellite positioning data and navigation systems

Source: dailymail.co.uk
Date: 13 December, 2019

The Earth's magnetic North Pole is travelling at an unprecedented rate and is picking up speed as it moves towards Siberia, according to new satellite data.

The magnetic North Pole is the wandering point on the surface of Earth's Northern Hemisphere at which the planet's magnetic field - created by molten iron within the planet’s core - points vertically downwards.

The latest World Magnetic Model, which tracks the movement of the Earth’s magnetic field, shows that the magnetic north is moving at a rate of 30 miles per year.

This is the fastest recorded shift of the Earth's north since the mid-16th century and could cause havoc for aviation and navigation systems, including smartphone apps that use GPS.

The WMM has also located ‘caution zones’ on Earth around the magnetic fields where compasses may be prone to errors and send users off course.

https://www-dailymail-co-uk.cdn.amp...hifting-unprecedented-rate-30-miles-year.html
 
The recent dramatic migration of the magnetic pole has now been explained in terms of changes occurring deep within the earth.
Scientists explain magnetic pole's wanderings

European scientists think they can now describe with confidence what's driving the drift of the North Magnetic Pole.

It's shifted in recent years away from Canada towards Siberia.

And this rapid movement has required more frequent updates to navigation systems, including those that operate the mapping functions in smartphones.

A team, led from Leeds University, says the behaviour is explained by the competition of two magnetic "blobs" on the edge of the Earth's outer core.
Changes in the flow of molten material in the planet's interior have altered the strength of the above regions of negative magnetic flux.

"This change in the pattern of flow has weakened the patch under Canada and ever so slightly increased the strength of the patch under Siberia," explained Dr Phil Livermore.

"This is why the North Pole has left its historic position over the Canadian Arctic and crossed over the International Date Line. Northern Russia is winning the 'tug of war', if you like" he told BBC News. ...

FULL STORY: https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-52550973
 
And here I thought it was Putin's doing, pulling the North Pole away from Canada to Russia.
 
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