Who owns the magnetic north pole

We've got you covered. First, there's true north, which is the northern end of the axis on which our planet turns. But our planet's protective magnetic bubble, or magnetosphere, isn't perfectly aligned with this spin.

Instead, the dynamo of Earth's core creates a magnetic field that is slightly tilted from the planet's rotational axis. The northern end of this planet-size bar magnet is what's known as geomagnetic north—a point sitting off the northwest coast of Greenland that's changed position little over the last century. Then there's magnetic north, what your compass locates, which is defined as the point at which magnetic field lines point vertically down.

Unlike geomagnetic north, this position is more susceptible to the surges and flows in the swirl of liquid iron in the core. These currents tug on the magnetic field, sending magnetic north hopping across the globe. James Clark Ross first located magnetic north in in the scattered islands of Canada's Nunavut territory. Since then, the pole has largely marched north, traversing hundreds of miles over the last several decades.

Curiously, its polar opposite, magnetic south, has moved little during this time. To keep up with all these changes, the U. The model is updated every five years, with the last update in Between each update, scientists check the model's accuracy against data from ground magnetic observatories and the European Space Agency's Swarm mission —a trio of magnetic-field mapping satellites that zip around Earth 15 to 16 times each day.

Until now, this seemed sufficient to keep up with magnetic north's march toward Siberia. In the mid s, the north magnetic pole was lumbering along at less than a hundred feet each day, adding up to less than seven miles of difference each year. But in the '90s, this started to change. By the early aughts, magnetic north was chugging along at some 34 miles each year.

Though the events could be linked, it's not yet possible to say for sure. By early , scientists realized that the model would soon exceed the acceptable limits for magnetic-based navigation. Something had to be done before the model's next regular update, slated for This updated version was pre-released online in October As Beggan explains, these include the model's primary users in defense and military —the U. Department of Defense, the U.

The government shutdown delayed the comprehensive public release of the information, which includes online calculators, software, and a technical note describing the changes. In principal, everyone who uses magnetic navigation could benefit from this update, says Arnaud Chulliat , a geomagnetist at the University of Colorado in Boulder and a NOAA affiliate who worked on the update.

The model has found its way into many of our modern mapping systems, including Google and Apple, Beggan adds. But the difference is minor for most civilian purposes, and the changes are mainly limited to latitudes above 55 degrees. Interest in these unexpected jolts is about more than mapping.

The dance of Earth's magnetic field lines presents one of the few windows scientists have to processes that happen thousands of miles below your feet. The north magnetic pole seems to be controlled by two patches of magnetic field, he explains, one under northern Canada and one under Siberia. Between and , the flow of molten, magnetic material in Earth's outer core changed.

Because of these changes, the researchers say, the magnetic blob lurking beneath Canada slowly elongated in the early aughts, weakening the corresponding magnetic intensity on Earth's surface. Eventually, the blob of molten material beneath Canada split in two and the stronger one slowly shifted toward the blob beneath Siberia. This spurred the magnetic north pole to slip closer and closer to Siberia, where the magnetic intensity was stronger.

In , the magnetic north pole fell within miles of the geographic north pole. The movement has been so rapid that the British Geological Survey and U. National Geophysical Data Center, which update the World's Magnetic Model, had to accelerate their process in order to keep up.

The scientists generated a series of models of Earth's core in an effort to understand how it might move in the future. These shifts have major consequences for global navigation systems. Anything or anyone that uses a compass—from ships at sea to the smart phones in our pockets—is impacted by this magnetic game of tug-o-war.

Type keyword s to search. Though they sound scary, pole flips can take a long time to occur and pose no immediate threat. The CrowdMag app, which. A modern electronic compass helps us understand fields not in our vision. An unusually large solar flare erupted just as Hurricane Irma, with sustained winds of mph, passed through the Caribbean. Published March 28, Updated Date June 17, URL updates, grammatical corrections, and additional information about magnetic poles added. Related Links Geomagnetism.