Posted on 12/13/2019 2:22:18 PM PST by Red Badger
Earlier this year, US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the British Geological Survey (BGS) were forced to update the World Magnetic Model a year ahead of schedule due to the speed with which the magnetic north pole is shifting out of the Canadian Arctic and toward Russia’s Siberia.
The BGS and the US National Centers for Environmental Information has released a new update to the World Magnetic Model this week, confirming that the magnetic north pole, whose coordinates are crucial for the navigation systems used by governments, militaries and a slew of civilian applications, is continuing its push toward Siberia.
“The WMM2020 forecasts that the northern magnetic pole will continue drifting toward Russia, although at a slowly decreasing speed –down to about 40 km per year compared to the average speed of 55 km over the past twenty years,” the US agency said in a press statement.
The data confirmed that this year, the magnetic north pole passed to within 390 km of the geographic North Pole, and crossed the Greenwich (prime) meridian. Compilers also confirmed that the Earth’s magnetic field is continuing to weaken, at a rate of about 5 percent every 100 years.
Global map of declination and the dip pole locations for 2020
The World Magnetic Model is used by everything from smartphone compass apps, maps and GPS services to telecommunications transmission systems, and navigation tools for various agencies, including the Federal Aviation Administration, NASA, the US Defence Department and NATO. Scientists Still Don’t Know Exactly What’s Driving Pole’s Accelerated Drift
Magnetic north, the point on the planet’s surface toward which your conventional compass points, is created by the churning of molten metal in Earth’s core, which creates huge electrical currents to produce the magnetic field.
Commenting on the freshly-released magnetic north pole data, Dr. Ciaran Beggan, a geophysicist and geomagnetic specialist from the British Geological Survey’s Edinburgh office, told FT that although the movement of the pole has been “much faster” since the 1990s “than at any time for at least four centuries,” scientists “really don’t know much about the changes in the core that’s driving it.”
With the pole passing the Greenwich meridian and continuing its race east, humanity is entering the unknown, scientifically speaking, since, from the time records of the magnetic north pole’s position have been kept starting in the 16th century, the pole had drifted around the Canadian Arctic.
Tardis located: North Pole
Dr. Phil Livermore of Leeds University’s Institute of Geophysics recently postulated that a ‘jet stream’ of liquid iron flowing in the planet’s core could help explain shifts in the position of magnetic north, but suggested tracking the flows of this liquid iron could be difficult, “because it lies beneath 3,000 kilometres of rock.”
Scientists have previously expressed concerns about the fluctuations in the magnetic north pole and its possible impact on the magnetic field protecting Earth. Without the field, Earth would be left vulnerable to solar flares, which could cause damage to everything from spacecraft to power grids. Even with the magnetic field intact, the planet remains vulnerable. In 2011, the US National Academy of Sciences calculated that a repeat of a solar storm like the one which hit the planet in 1859 could cause as much as $2 trillion in initial damage, and take a decade to repair.
Furthermore, a weakened magnetic field may lead to a potentially cataclysmic process scientists call a “geomagnetic reversal,” in which the Earth’s north and south poles effectively switch places. The last such flip is estimated to have taken place about 800,000 years ago, and some scientists believe that another may be due soon, even though such an event could take centuries to complete.
The Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) and the Aurora Australis (Sourthern Lights).
The moving magnetic north pole is the real cause of climate change.
Gravity and magnetic field aren’t even apple and oranges.
For most people the magnetic declination wandering around as it always does is nothing to even think about. If you use a map and a regular compass for hiking or whatever it is important. If the magnetic pole DOES flip it can cause the magnetic field to weaken and would allow more cosmic rays in and also the electrical pulses during sun storms that could harm electrical stuff. But I think the article is correct - that can take a long time to happen - so nothing for us to worry about.
“It’s those pesky Russians again! They are trying to steal our Magnetic North Pole!”
my first thought too ... probably their ultimate goal in snatching the North Pole is to grab Santa Claus as well ...
Not a Tardis but an Outhouse. Note all the tracks leading to it.
We could magnetize the submarine Seaview and have them bring back the North pole to the correct location.
Santa would appreciate that.
And don’t forget to compensate for the Coreolis effect on that back-flushing toilet. Ewww.
The magnetic field looks like a football field. Lots of lines, but not parallel lines, wavy lines all over the place.
You can’t see these lines. You need a compass. To detect them you have to move and then watch the needle move because it always points to the magnetic pole.
I discovered this when I was in 3rd grade and wrote the above paragraph.
PS. I am good at navigation.
These phrases are used to make an outlandish scenario sound plausible: Could it be...perhaps... if so... then...
I always hear those phrases in ancient alien episodes history channel.
I always hear those phrases in ancient alien episodes history channel.
*******
The secret code phrase there is “I’m not saying it’s aliens, but...”
You are right about that. That reminds me, the ancient aliens narrator also says “ ancient alien theorists say...”. Which gives people the impression a lot of educated in the know people are with the theory, giving weight to it.
Heh. Yeah.
Ancient Alien Theorists say...
Like what, all three of them? You’re all right there on the same set. Why not just say it together.
You are hilarious!
Birds would fly NORTH for the winter!...................
THAT is the MAIN REASON Time Travel is impractical, not impossible, just impractical......................
That’s why he wears RED!.............................
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