Earth’s north magnetic pole is shifting!

 Earth’s magnetic North Pole is on the move again : It'll change the GPS too             

Earth’s magnetic north is not static. Like an anchorless buoy pushed by ocean waves, the magnetic field is constantly on the move as liquid iron sloshes around in the planet’s outer core. Earth’s magnetic North Pole is shifting from Canada to Siberia due to changes in the flow of molten iron and nickel in the outer core. This movement has accelerated in recent years, impacting navigation systems, leading to frequent updates of the World Magnetic Model for accurate GPS data. Check your compass again, Earth’s north magnetic pole is moving toward Siberia. As the solar system, the earth is also made of countless wonders. One of them is the feat of variation in its magnetic field. Earth is surrounded by an immense magnetic field, called the magnetosphere. Generated by powerful, dynamic forces at the centre of our world, our magnetosphere shields us from erosion of our atmosphere by the solar wind, particle radiation from coronal mass ejections (eruptions of large clouds of energetic, magnetized plasma from the Sun’s corona into space), and from cosmic rays from deep space. Earth’s magnetic north is not static. Like an anchorless buoy pushed by ocean waves, the magnetic field is constantly on the move as liquid iron sloshes around in the planet’s outer core. The magnetosphere plays the role of gatekeeper, repelling these forms of energy that are harmful to life, trapping most of it safely away from Earth’s surface. Since the forces that generate our magnetic field are constantly changing, the field itself is also in continual flux, its strength waxing and waning over time. This causes the location of Earth’s magnetic north and south poles to gradually shift, and to even completely flip locations every 300,000 years or so. Since at least the early 19th century, Earth’s north magnetic pole has been situated in the Canadian Arctic and slowly moving north and east. But now, after a recent acceleration, it is closer to Siberia than to Canada, according to analyses by international groups of scientists.

However, the reversals are random and can occur as infrequently as every 50 million years or more. The last reversal was about 780,000 years ago, so we are overdue for another. Now, the magnetic poles flip when north becomes south and south becomes north. The process can take hundreds or even thousands of years. Earth’s magnetic North Pole is shifting due to disturbances in the geomagnetic field caused by charged particles from the sun. The shift impacts navigation and needs to be regularly accounted for. The shift will prompt airplane operators, mariners, drilling companies and global trade industries to update their navigation systems. Updates will also improve the accuracy of technology from GPS-enabled phones to nuclear submarines. “The current behaviour of magnetic north is something that we have never observed before,” William Brown, a global geomagnetic field modeller at the British Geological Survey, said. Since Earth’s magnetic field changes over time, in about every five years, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the British Geological Survey update the World Magnetic Model (WMM). WMM is actually a map of Earth’s magnetic field. As per NOAA, WMM “provides precise navigational data for all military and civilian planes, ships, submarines and GPS units.” “WMM 2025 includes improved spatial resolution of approximately 300 km's at the equator compared to the standard spatial resolution of 3300 km's at the equator. Higher resolution provides greater directional accuracy,” the NOAA team said. WMM is updated every five years to keep it accurate. WMM 2025 is set to guide our journeys for the next five years. However, the latest update is quite special because it’s going to significantly change how compass needles and navigation systems work.

How does the shift impact the GPS?

The Earth's magnetic North Pole is shifting, which can impact GPS and other navigation systems in several ways which includes:-

Navigation system updates: The WMM needs to be frequently updated to account for the shifting magnetic pole.

Miscalculated locations: If the magnetic pole shifts faster than the World Magnetic Model (WMM) is updated, devices may miscalculate locations. This can lead to errors in navigation and orientation.

Magnetic field reversal: If the magnetic field reverses, it could significantly disrupt daily technology usage.

Magnetic field weakening: A weakening magnetic field can cause errors in positioning and navigation.

Why magnetic north is moving?

The magnetic north pole is different from the geographic North Pole. The geographic North Pole (or “true north”) is where Earth’s axis meets its surface and is a fixed point on the globe. The magnetic north pole, where compass needles point, is about 1,200 miles south and is where geomagnetic field lines are vertical. “The [core’s] fluid itself flows as easily as water does on the surface,” said Ciaran Beggan, a geophysicist at the British Geological Survey. “It both generates the magnetic field and drags it with it as well.” Earth’s magnetic north is not static. Like an anchorless buoy pushed by ocean waves, the magnetic field is constantly on the move as liquid iron sloshes around in the planet’s outer core. The movement of the molten, electrically conductive iron gives rise to our planet’s magnetic field. The location of the magnetic north pole was first discovered in 1831 by Arctic explorer James Clark Ross. On an expedition, he mapped and explored Boothia Peninsula in Nunavut, in the Canadian Arctic. There he found the spot where his compass dipped almost vertically, indicating the magnetic north pole, also known as the magnetic dip pole. The magnetic pole was last visited in person in 2007 by a Canadian team of researchers.

Latest update

The recent WMM update reveals that Earth’s magnetic North Pole is moving from Canada to Siberia in Russia. This shift is driven by the flow of molten iron and nickel between our planet’s two large magnetic lobes: the North American lobe beneath Canada and the Siberian lobe under Siberia. William Brown, global geomagnetic field modeler at the British Geological Survey, said, “The current behaviour of magnetic north is something that we have never observed before. Magnetic north has been moving slowly around Canada since the 1500s.” In the last two decades, the movement of iron and nickel within Earth’s outer core has made the Siberian lobe region more active, strengthening its influence and causing the magnetic North Pole to move faster towards Siberia. However, Brown added, “In the past 20 years, it accelerated towards Siberia, increasing in speed every year until about five years ago, when it suddenly decelerated from 50 to 35 km (31 to 22 miles) per year, which is the biggest deceleration in speed we’ve ever seen.”

Every five years, scientists at the British Geological Survey, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and other agencies release an updated World Magnetic Model of Earth’s magnetic field, along with forecasts for the north pole into the short-term future. NOAA said the model is the standard one used for aircraft satellite navigation, attitude and heading referencing systems which use the geomagnetic field. Scientists from 19 international institutions release a complementary magnetic model called the International Geomagnetic Reference Field (IGRF), which is also updated every five years. The model is intended for scientific research but can also be used like the World Magnetic Model, said Beggan, who coordinated the release of the IGRF. The models take in observations from satellites that continuously measure Earth’s magnetic field, as well as from ground observatories worldwide. Using the models, Beggan said, scientists can determine where the magnetic north pole has moved. Since the 1830s, the magnetic pole has travelled about 1,500 miles north and eastward in the Northern Hemisphere. No one knows why, but Beggan said it’s probably linked to some pockets of the magnetic field getting stronger and others weakening. He said the overall strength of the Earth’s magnetic field has been decreasing over the past couple hundred years, but it doesn’t decrease uniformly. For instance, the field is getting weaker in Canada but stronger around Siberia." 

The rapid movement of the magnetic north pole has caused problems for scientists and navigators. Computer models of the pole's location have become outdated, making accurate compass-based navigation difficult. GPS can also be unreliable in the polar regions. Most people probably won’t notice major differences on their compasses. Changes are one-tenth to one-quarter of a degree per year in most places around the world, and our compasses are accurate to only about a degree. But many industries rely on highly accurate magnetic field maps for navigation. Companies update navigation systems in satellites, aircraft and smartphone apps which may operate in areas where GPS doesn’t work as well, such as northerly routes or geographic poles. The location of the magnetic pole is also important in underground operations such as excavations, archaeology measurements, or exploration for oil and gas. To drill underground, industries rely on magnetometers that use the magnetic field to give directions.

“Although it seems a bit arcane, it has lots of practical applications,” Beggan said. “You do need to kind of make sure that the maps are accurate in order to ensure that error doesn’t accumulate over time.”     "Since the 1600s, when reliable calculations for magnetic north began, it has not been found over Siberia, although Beggan said it probably reached Siberia at some point in Earth’s history. At its current trajectory, it is likely to approach Siberia in the next decade. Alternatively, the motion could abruptly stop and reverse to Canada, he said. That’s just part of the uncertainty when you’re making predictions based on activity 3,000 miles away in Earth’s core. While the magnetic north pole is on the move, the south magnetic pole is comparatively static. It’s moving northward, but at only about five to 10 km's per year, with hardly any movement in the past few hundred years. "While both poles are pulled by the movement in the core, the influence is not symmetric. The magnetic field is moving and flowing differently in the Northern Hemisphere than the Southern Hemisphere “for reasons we’re not sure,” Beggan said. Then there’s the odd trend of the magnetic field overall, which has weakened about 9%  on average over the past 200 years. Some speculate that this could presage a flip of the north and south magnetic poles, but scientists say there’s no evidence that any pole reversal is imminent, additionally, it would take place over hundreds to thousands of years. 

Although the shift is going to cause some stir, you don’t need to be worried about whether the GPS on your smartphone will remain accurate after the WMM 2025 update, The map and other GPS-driven apps in your smartphone will receive the required update from the respective service providers. In fact, they are likely to work better after the update. This is because WMM 2025 comes with much higher resolution and accuracy. As per the NOAA team, “WMM 2025 includes improved spatial resolution of approximately 300 km's at the equator compared to the standard spatial resolution of 3300 km's at the equator. Higher resolution provides greater directional accuracy.” The latest WMM map is 10 times more detailed than previous versions and is set to guide our journeys for the next five years, unless Earth’s magnetic behaviour suddenly changes.