Once again, scientists adjusted the location of the North Pole, reflecting its continuing shift from Canada towards Siberia. Specialists from the National Administration of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research of the USA (Noaa) and the British Geological Service (BGS) updated World Magnetic Model (WMM), which has been reviewed every five years.
The Magnetic North Pole is a point where the Earth’s magnetic field is directed strictly vertically down. Unlike the geographical North Pole, which remains unchanged, the magnetic pole is constantly moving due to processes in the bowels of the Earth. Iron and nickel circulating in the nucleus of the planet affect changes in the magnetic field, causing the movement of poles.
The history of the magnetic pole has centuries. It was first discovered in 1831 by Sir James Clark Ross in Canada. Since then, the measurements have become more precise due to the data obtained from the Earth and from the cosmos. In the last two decades, the pole has rapidly moved towards Siberia, increasing speed to 50 kilometers a year, but in the past five years its movement has slowed up to 35 kilometers.
Recent studies have shown that the movement of the pole is associated with the influence of two giant magnetic “blades” – near Canada and Siberia. These forces sometimes cause such significant changes that they require urgent updates of the model outside the planned five-year cycle.
The new WMM update includes a map with a resolution of 10 times higher than the previous one. Now the accuracy of the model is about 300 kilometers at the equator, which is much better than the standard 3,300 kilometers. This is especially important for accurate navigation: for example, when flying from South Africa to the UK according to the old model, the deviation would be 150 kilometers.
Although these changes are important for cartographic and logistics systems, users of smartphones and GPS do not need to worry – updates are automatically occurred.