Magnetic north pole racing towards Russia
Feb 7, 2019 18:00:23 GMT 10
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Post by Wes Gear on Feb 7, 2019 18:00:23 GMT 10
Magnetic north pole racing towards Russia risking havoc for planes, ships and smartphones
EARTH’S magnetic north pole is not where it’s supposed to be thanks to strange and erratic movements that could spell trouble for planes, boats and even your smartphone.
Magnetic north has drifted so fast in recent decades that scientists are scrambling to keep navigation tech that relies on the magnetic poles to map the planet up to date.
On Monday, boffins released an update of where magnetic north really is, nearly a year ahead of schedule.
The locations of the magnetic poles are not static but wander as much as 14.5 kilometres every year, and scientists keep a close eye on their movements.
For some reason, the magnetic north pole is skittering away from Canada, towards Siberia, at a speed breaching 55 kilometres a year — three times faster than scientists expected it to.
Experts say older estimates about where magnetic north is headed are no longer accurate enough for precise navigation.
The rapid movement is a problem for compasses in smartphones and some consumer electronics.
Aircraft and ships also rely on magnetic north as a backup in case their GPS systems go wrong, while the US military uses it to make parachute landings.
Airport runways are sometimes named after magnetic north’s position, and their names change if it moves.
For example, the airport in Fairbanks, Alaska, renamed a runway 1L-19R to 2L-20R in 2009.
Without an accurate idea of where magnetic north is, many of our navigation systems could be in trouble — though GPS tools won’t be affected as they rely on satellite tech.
The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and UK update the location of magnetic north around once every five years.
But the recent update came early because of the pole’s faster movement.
“The error is increasing all the time,” Arnaud Chulliat, a scientists at the University of Colorado Boulder, told Nature.
Scientists are still trying to figure out what’s behind the strange behaviour of Earth’s magnetic field.
Earth’s magnetism comes from its scorching hot core, which is filled with liquid iron that churns beneath the planet’s surface.
As Earth rotates, the moving iron generates electric currents that create a magnetic field.
The field is constantly changing, and every 300,000 years the poles may even flip.
The last time this happened was around 780,000 years ago, leading some scientists to warn that Earth is overdue a flip — an event that could cause GPS chaos.
link
EARTH’S magnetic north pole is not where it’s supposed to be thanks to strange and erratic movements that could spell trouble for planes, boats and even your smartphone.
Magnetic north has drifted so fast in recent decades that scientists are scrambling to keep navigation tech that relies on the magnetic poles to map the planet up to date.
On the move. The magnetic north pole recently crossed the International Date Line.
On Monday, boffins released an update of where magnetic north really is, nearly a year ahead of schedule.
The locations of the magnetic poles are not static but wander as much as 14.5 kilometres every year, and scientists keep a close eye on their movements.
For some reason, the magnetic north pole is skittering away from Canada, towards Siberia, at a speed breaching 55 kilometres a year — three times faster than scientists expected it to.
Experts say older estimates about where magnetic north is headed are no longer accurate enough for precise navigation.
Earth’s magnetic poles are not located in the same spot as its geographical poles.
The rapid movement is a problem for compasses in smartphones and some consumer electronics.
Aircraft and ships also rely on magnetic north as a backup in case their GPS systems go wrong, while the US military uses it to make parachute landings.
Airport runways are sometimes named after magnetic north’s position, and their names change if it moves.
For example, the airport in Fairbanks, Alaska, renamed a runway 1L-19R to 2L-20R in 2009.
Without an accurate idea of where magnetic north is, many of our navigation systems could be in trouble — though GPS tools won’t be affected as they rely on satellite tech.
The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and UK update the location of magnetic north around once every five years.
But the recent update came early because of the pole’s faster movement.
“The error is increasing all the time,” Arnaud Chulliat, a scientists at the University of Colorado Boulder, told Nature.
Scientists are still trying to figure out what’s behind the strange behaviour of Earth’s magnetic field.
Earth’s magnetism comes from its scorching hot core, which is filled with liquid iron that churns beneath the planet’s surface.
As Earth rotates, the moving iron generates electric currents that create a magnetic field.
The field is constantly changing, and every 300,000 years the poles may even flip.
The last time this happened was around 780,000 years ago, leading some scientists to warn that Earth is overdue a flip — an event that could cause GPS chaos.
link