Earth's north magnetic pole is drifting
Scientists have found that Earth's north magnetic pole has been drifting so fast in the last few decades that past estimates are no longer accurate enough for precise navigation.
The magnetic north pole is wandering about 34 miles (55 kilometres) a year.
It crossed the international date line in 2017, and is leaving the Canadian Arctic on its way to Siberia.
University of Colorado geophysicist Arnaud Chulliat, lead author of the newly issued World Magnetic Model, has opined that the constant shift is a problem for compasses in smartphones and some consumer electronics.
Airplanes and boats also rely on magnetic north, usually as backup navigation.
However he said GPS isn't affected because it's satellite-based.
Since 1831 when it was first measured in the Canadian Arctic it has moved about 1,400 miles (2300 kilometres) toward Siberia. Its speed jumped from about 9 mph (15 kph) to 34 mph (55 kph) since 2000.
The reason is turbulence in Earth's liquid outer core. There is a hot liquid ocean of iron and nickel in the planet's core where the motion generates an electric field, said University of Maryland geophysicist Daniel Lathrop, who wasn't part of the team monitoring the magnetic north pole.
The magnetic south pole is moving far slower than the north
In general Earth's magnetic field is getting weaker, leading scientists to say that it will eventually flip, where north and south pole changes polarity, like a bar magnet flipping over.
It has happened numerous times in Earth's past, but not in the last 780,000 years.
When it reverses, it won't be like a coin flip, but take 1,000 or more years
Scientists have found that Earth's north magnetic pole has been drifting so fast in the last few decades that past estimates are no longer accurate enough for precise navigation.
The magnetic north pole is wandering about 34 miles (55 kilometres) a year.
It crossed the international date line in 2017, and is leaving the Canadian Arctic on its way to Siberia.
University of Colorado geophysicist Arnaud Chulliat, lead author of the newly issued World Magnetic Model, has opined that the constant shift is a problem for compasses in smartphones and some consumer electronics.
Airplanes and boats also rely on magnetic north, usually as backup navigation.
However he said GPS isn't affected because it's satellite-based.
Since 1831 when it was first measured in the Canadian Arctic it has moved about 1,400 miles (2300 kilometres) toward Siberia. Its speed jumped from about 9 mph (15 kph) to 34 mph (55 kph) since 2000.
The reason is turbulence in Earth's liquid outer core. There is a hot liquid ocean of iron and nickel in the planet's core where the motion generates an electric field, said University of Maryland geophysicist Daniel Lathrop, who wasn't part of the team monitoring the magnetic north pole.
The magnetic south pole is moving far slower than the north
In general Earth's magnetic field is getting weaker, leading scientists to say that it will eventually flip, where north and south pole changes polarity, like a bar magnet flipping over.
It has happened numerous times in Earth's past, but not in the last 780,000 years.
When it reverses, it won't be like a coin flip, but take 1,000 or more years
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