EARTH’S NORTH MAGNETIC POLE IS DRIFTING FAST, GETTING WEAKER AND MAY FLIP SOON

Context:

  • 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.
  • Scientists have also released an of where true north really was, nearly a year ahead of schedule. 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.
  • 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, GPS isn’t affected because it’s satellite-based. The military depends on where magnetic north is for navigation and parachute drops, while NASA, the Federal Aviation Administration and US Forest Service also use it.
  • The US and the United Kingdom tend to the location of the magnetic north pole every five years in December, but this came early because of the pole’s faster movement. 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:

  • 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.
  • The drifting is akin to weather and therefore one might just call it magnetic weather. 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, experts said.
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