North Magnetic Pole Moving East Due to Core Flux

National Geographic ^ | December 28, 2009 | Richard A. Lovett

[NYer]

Earth's north magnetic pole is racing toward Russia at almost 40 miles (64 kilometers) a year due to magnetic changes in the planet's core, new research says.

The core is too deep for scientists to directly detect its magnetic field. But researchers can infer the field's movements by tracking how Earth's magnetic field has been changing at the surface and in space.

Now, newly analyzed data suggest that there's a region of rapidly changing magnetism on the core's surface, possibly being created by a mysterious "plume" of magnetism arising from deeper in the core.

And it's this region that could be pulling the magnetic pole away from its long-time location in northern Canada, said Arnaud Chulliat, a geophysicist at the Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris in France.

Finding North

Magnetic north, which is the place where compass needles actually point, is near but not exactly in the same place as the geographic North Pole. Right now, magnetic north is close to Canada's Ellesmere Island.

Navigators have used magnetic north for centuries to orient themselves when they're far from recognizable landmarks.

Although global positioning systems have largely replaced such traditional techniques, many people still find compasses useful for getting around underwater and underground where GPS satellites can't communicate.

The magnetic north pole had moved little from the time scientists first located it in 1831. Then in 1904, the pole began shifting northeastward at a steady pace of about 9 miles (15 kilometers) a year.

In 1989 it sped up again, and in 2007 scientists confirmed that the pole is now galloping toward Siberia at 34 to 37 miles (55 to 60 kilometers) a year.

A rapidly shifting magnetic pole means that magnetic-field maps need to be updated more often to allow compass users to make the crucial adjustment from magnetic north to true North.

Wandering Pole

Geologists think Earth has a magnetic field because the core is made up of a solid iron center surrounded by rapidly spinning liquid rock. This creates a "dynamo" that drives our magnetic field.

(Get more facts about Earth's insides.)

Scientists had long suspected that, since the molten core is constantly moving, changes in its magnetism might be affecting the surface location of magnetic north.

Although the new research seems to back up this idea, Chulliat is not ready to say whether magnetic north will eventually cross into Russia.

"It's too difficult to forecast," Chulliat said.

Also, nobody knows when another change in the core might pop up elsewhere, sending magnetic north wandering in a new direction.

Chulliat presented his work this week at a meeting of the American Geophysical Union in San Francisco.

[fanfan]

[usconservative]

Probably due to flatulent cows...again.

More likely penguin farts. Ever seen a cow on the north pole?

Hey, wait a minute .... are the Russians trying to steal Santa Claus or something?

[Tallguy]

Don’t anybody tell Al Gore or he’ll be proposing magnetic flux taxes...

[Raycpa]

Another pole moving to the right.

[rbg81]

Why isn’t Al Gore all over this? Its a great opportunity for him to fear monger and proposed trillions in new taxes which will make him rich(er). And lets not even mention a 2nd Nobel prize.....

[depressed in 06]

Another anthropogenic crisis that can be taxed.

[depressed in 06]

"It's too difficult to forecast," Chulliat said.

A man who has never been to East Anglia.

[matt1234]

"We must not allow a magnet gap!"

[Bigg Red]

What do you do that requires you to use such old maps?

[Disambiguator]

Just drill a deep hole and drop one of these babies down it - problem solved.

[zot]

Ping.

[vetvetdoug]

I used that information to find the old Civil War earthworks and where they were originally. About 20 years ago the Tennessee historian was mapping the location of the earthworks around Shiloh to Corinth and we had to correct the North about 15 degrees because the magnetic North had shifted. It made finding the original earthwork and battle locations easier and because many had been destroyed by farming. Other locations that were surveyed were Parker's Crossroads, Hatchie Bridge, Middleburg, Britton's Lane, Corinth, Farmington, Chewallah, Iuka, Peyton's Mills, Rienzi and Brice's Crossroads.

[neverdem]

thanks, bfl

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks fanfan! Been a long while since an update on this magnetic pole shift.

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[SunkenCiv]

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	Gods Graves Glyphs	Thanks fanfan for the ping, and thanks vetvetdoug for that interesting post! To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list. GGG managers are SunkenCiv, StayAt HomeMother, and Ernest_at_the_Beach
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[50cal Smokepole]

"We're doomed!!"

[Hegemony Cricket]

"Oh, George - the North Pole just moved in next door!"

[Balding_Eagle]

BTTT

[AGreatPer]

"A flip of the magnetic poles has happend in the past...and will again...."

Yup, the toilets are going to flush in the other direction......disaster.

[AGreatPer]

"A flip of the magnetic poles has happend in the past...and will again...."

Yup, the toilets are going to flush in the other direction......disaster.