· ·

North Magnetic Pole rapidly migrating toward Siberia

north-magnetic-pole-rapidly-migrating-towards-siberia

Earth's North Magnetic Pole is rapidly migrating toward Siberia, forcing the world's geomagnetism experts to update the World Magnetic Model (WMM) ahead of schedule for the first time. The most recent version of the model came out in 2015 and was supposed to last until 2020.

Reference geomagnetic field models such as the World Magnetic Model (WMM) and the International Geomagnetic Reference Field (IGRF) are used in a wide range of applications, including aircraft and ship navigation, and are embedded in billions of handheld electronic devices, Arnaud Chulliat, a geomagnetist at the University of Colorado Boulder and NOAA NCEI wrote in an abstract of his presentation at AGU's Fall Meeting held in Washington D.C., from December 14 to 20, 2018.

Because the main magnetic field slowly changes over time, these models are regularly updated, typically every five years.

"In early 2018, as part of our regular assessment of the WMM, we found that the model exceeded its specification for declination only three years into the five-year WMM cycle," Chulliat writes.

It is the first time since the geomagnetic field has been surveyed by low Earth orbit satellite data that non-linearities in field variations lead to a WMM specification breach so early in the cycle.

"We investigated this error and tracked it down to the combined effect of a global geomagnetic acceleration pulse occurring in 2015-2016, and a fast-changing magnetic field in the North polar area," he said.

A remarkable manifestation of the field variation is the drift of the North Magnetic Pole towards Russia, which has been occurring at the unusually high speed of about 50 km (31 miles) per year since the beginning of the 21st century.

Image credit: World Data Center for Geomagnetism/Kyoto University

On the contrary, the South Magnetic Pole drift is very slow (less than 10 km / 6.2 miles per year) and has not changed much over the past few decades, and hence provided a much smaller contribution to the overall model declination error.

Image credit: World Data Center for Geomagnetism/Kyoto University

"The error is increasing all the time," Chulliat said as reported by Alexandra Witze in an article published recently in Nature. "The problem lies partly with the moving pole and partly with other shifts deep within the planet, he explains." 

The answer to what is happening is twofold, Chulliat said.

First, the 2016 geomagnetic pulse beneath South America came at the worst possible time, just after the 2015 update to the World Magnetic Model. This meant that the magnetic field had lurched just after the latest update, in ways that planners had not anticipated.

Second, the motion of the North Magnetic Pole made the problem worse. The pole wanders in unpredictable ways that have fascinated explorers and scientists since James Clark Ross first measured it in 1831 in the Canadian Arctic. In the mid-1990s it picked up speed, from around 15 km (9.3 miles) per year to around 55 km (34 miles) per year. By 2001, it had entered the Arctic Ocean – where, in 2007, a team including Chulliat landed an airplane on the sea ice in an attempt to locate the pole.

The pole crossed the International Date Line into the Eastern Hemisphere in 2018 and is now racing towards Siberia.

What does it mean?

Some scientists believe this rapid migration is one of the signs of Earth's geomagnetic reversal.

"The magnetic field is in a permanent state of flux. Magnetic north wanders, and every few hundred thousand years the polarity flips so that a compass would point south instead of north," ESA wrote on March 21, 2017 in an article titled 'Unravelling Earth's magnetic field'.

Since magnetic poles flip back and forth over time, the solidified minerals form ‘stripes’ on the seafloor and provide a record of Earth’s magnetic history.

A map produced by Swarm constellation of satellites gave us an unprecedented global view of the magnetic stripes associated with plate tectonics reflected in the mid-oceanic ridges in the oceans.

"These magnetic stripes are evidence of pole reversals and analyzing the magnetic imprints of the ocean floor allows the reconstruction of past core field changes. They also help to investigate tectonic plate motions,” said Dhananjay Ravat from the University of Kentucky in the USA.

There have been 183 reversals over the last 83 million years. The latest stable reversal, the Brunhes–Matuyama reversal, occurred 780 000 years ago, and may have happened very quickly, within a human lifetime, a team of scientist reported in a study released in 2014 and published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Royal Astronomical Society.

Such an event might leave Earth with a substantially reduced magnetic field for some unknown period of time, exposing our world to dangerous effects from the Sun. If it occurred in today’s world of ubiquitous electric power and global interconnected communications, a reduced magnetic field could cost us trillions of dollars, Deborah Byrd of EarthSky wrote at the time.

"Some geologists argue the Earth is overdue for a reversal and might even be entering one now, as the geomagnetic field has been getting weaker over the past 150 years or more," Alexandra Witze wrote back in 2010.

Featured image: World Data Center for Geomagnetism/Kyoto University

Share:

Commenting rules and guidelines

We value the thoughts and opinions of our readers and welcome healthy discussions on our website. In order to maintain a respectful and positive community, we ask that all commenters follow these rules:

  • Treat others with kindness and respect.
  • Stay on topic and contribute to the conversation in a meaningful way.
  • Do not use abusive or hateful language.
  • Do not spam or promote unrelated products or services.
  • Do not post any personal information or content that is illegal, obscene, or otherwise inappropriate.

We reserve the right to remove any comments that violate these rules. By commenting on our website, you agree to abide by these guidelines. Thank you for helping to create a positive and welcoming environment for all.

9 Comments

  1. B”H There seems to be substantial evidence about mass extinctions when there is a major pole shift, it is just that someone has to know where to look. Many scientific findings are buried in journals, and one has to know how to search. Some videos are now available, but this might not continue indefinitely, due to challenges free press experiences. It seems from current public commentary that a certain government, i.e. that of the temperate region of North America, may be interested in reducing panic. So far, this material is easily searchable on line for those searchers who have the necessary vocabulary and grasp of physical sciences and the concepts through which they are studied. If anyone who accesses this material evidences panic or too much concern, this could increase the chance of a decrease in free press rights availability on this topic. So, if anyone who is reading my note does find this information, please be sure to be calm, stay calm, stay constructive, and make sure the government in the 50 states (or however many there will be going forward) is glad they let you see the information. We need to let the government know that it is to their benefit that we be given the information that pertains to our lives and survival, because we can then strive to meet our own needs, not depend on dwindling government resources, and create, on our own, systems that will decrease the government’s work-load and liability in the eyes of those unknown parties to whom they, themselves, feel compelled to answer, in the process of seeking to maintain order, should weather and/or seismic instabilities proliferate. Thanks. to TW for covering this topic and featuring the SO video on Earth’s Catastrophe.

  2. Theory: The center of this solar system lined up with the center of this galaxy at the closest part of the oval of the galaxy, this solar system circles around the edges of the galaxy. Dec 21, 22, & 23 of 2012 is when the center line-up occurred. After that time, the angle of the center of the Galaxcies energies are coming through the solar system more and more of an angle. This causes the energies to swirl and mix differently Also a reverse angle energies at this planet. More fishers, sink holes, cracking of continents, weather channel changes, magnetic fields swirling. It seems to have pushed one of the seven sisters out of the solar system also. Could all of this flip the planet or at least flip the magnetic fields. Yes, I think so. And then some. What a ride this will be. Many of these things were warned about in many ways and by many. It seems if we discuss them, we get attached verbally or worse. Oh, we float plated in northern California on Feb 25, 2016 in the afternoon. I felt it. We can not discuss this stuff too much. Get attacked. Sorry.

  3. Magnetic north has passed the international date line. The earth will start to increase its wobble. The closer it gets to Siberia, the more the earth will wobble. Edgar Cayce, the sleeping prophet predicted this back in the 1930s. Very interesting. Watch for new epuptions from mt Vesuvius and Pelee.

    1. That’s my guess too, the closer it gets to Siberia, the more wobble we’re going to experience. Yeap and this one will be a doozy. Cayce said next pole star will be Vega which is a whopping 51 degree shift. Always looking for Etna, Vesuvius and Pelee updates.

    2. Aaah, you are wise, Mr. Jones. I’ve also been awaiting Cayce’s prediction that when Vesuvius and Pelee erupt concurrently, that will indicate that the global shift is upon us, meaning that we better be prepared to ride it out in a “safe” location. For those who still reside near major bodies of water and/or volcanoes, now is probably the last chance you’ll have to get out of (major) harm’s way.

  4. JAMAL SHRAIR KNOWS WHY AND HE HAS BEEN ARGUING FOR YEARS. All WHAT HE WROTE ABOUT THIS ISSUE CAN NOW BE SEEN BY THE PEOPLE OF THE WORLD. The fundamental cause for the climate change and the geological events that have increased enormously are connected with the changes in our star which causing the rapid changes in the magnetic field of the earth. I have published many long research articles with extensive details that explained these changes that are now acknowledged by mainstream scientists. They do not understand the sun that is why they are at lost to explained these rapid changes and the acceleration in the geomagnetic reversalJAMAL SHRAIR KNOWS WHY AND HE HAS BEEN ARGUING FOR YEARS. All WHAT HE WROTE ABOUT THIS ISSUE CAN NOW BE SEEN BY THE PEOPLE OF THE WORLD. The fundamental cause for the climate change and the geological events that have increased enormously are connected with the changes in our star which causing the rapid changes in the magnetic field of the earth. I have published many long research articles with extensive details that explained these changes that are now acknowledged by mainstream scientists. They do not understand the sun that is why they are at lost to explained these rapid changes and the acceleration in the geomagnetic reversal

    1. Correct. The scientists who are reporting on climate change do not seem to know that this sun we see today, is not the same star all the time. It goes through a regular metamorphosis, just like … say, a butterfly. Then you have to solar minimum and maximum cycles on top of that. But they talk about it as if it’s a static entity. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Leave a reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *