Replies

I’m guessing that it is the satellites that spit out the GPS data that rely on a reasonable reference to True North. BUT - they can only measure to magnetic north, and then use a fudge factor to get true north.

It is the poor forecast model of the fudge factor. I have no idea how big of a deal it is. The first part of the article talks about ships and planes near the poles - so perhaps it is more critical there than farther away from the poles.

If you are at the pole you are near the “target”. With a gun - missing the bullseye by 6 inches while standing 7 feet away is a big miss. But standing far away from the target (or in Florida and referencing to the north pole) - just getting the bullet on the paper from 1,000 yards is a good shot.

“How/Why does the GPS in your smartphone rely on where the model says magnetic north is? Hopefully they are keeping good track of where the dragons be.”

They work off satellites in orbit. They give you information that is translated into current geomagnetic positions. Actually it would be better if they made it true north positions but this is trivial. Your GPS will work just fine.

Our reliance on geomagnetic positions is really an anachronism dating back to the sailing days that totally relied on magnetic north. GPS satellites will tell you exactly where you are with precision. I have a gps in my glider that I down loaded for free on my tablet. It tells me where to go based on the current geomagnetic north. It would be easy to change all of this based on polar north. As said, it is an anachronism that will be gone in the future. However, I will not throw my magnetic compass away!

"How/Why does the GPS in your smartphone rely on where the model says magnetic north is?"

It doesn't. Geomagnetism has nothing to do with it. The physical location of your GPS receiver is determined relative to the physical positions of satellites and ground stations that monitor the positions of the satellites. It's easier to refer you to the information behind the following links than to explain it all more fully here. The articles are short, simple, easy and fast to read.

How Does GPS Work?
https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/gps/en/

How does GPS work?
http://www.physics.org/article-questions.asp?id=55

How does the Global Positioning System work ?
https://www.pocketgpsworld.com/howgpsworks.php

The increasingly shifting, jittering outer core and magnetic field with parts of the field weakening will cause changes in seismicity, volcanism, gas leaks, climate (yes) and rays hitting the earth. The outer core moves around more, and the lower mantle does not have a smooth, consistent underside (speed bumps, heh). The usually stronger magnetic field protected us more from solar and cosmic rays.

No, it's not the end of the world. And yes, it happens naturally once in a great while (not anthropogenic). Wear good hats and long sleeves while spending much time outdoors where and/or when the days are long.

There’s really much more to what will happen with increased movement and weak spots in the magnetic field. The increased outer core and mantle movement will cause increased natural methane leakage from some parts of the earth, which in turn, will cause temporary warm fluctuations in those areas. Weaker spots in the magnetic field will also cause ozone to be depleted more quickly under the weaker spots.

Don’t worry, though, because ozone continuously regenerates. The process we’re seeing won’t make our atmosphere go away as seen in whacky articles mentioning Mars. It might get just a wee bit thinner temporarily, but not enough to be noticeable by us.