The magnetic north of the Earth changes rapidly. What does it mean?



[ad_1]

The global magnetic model had to be updated in recent days as the Earth's magnetic north pole changes faster than normal.

The magnetic pole of the Earth is a variable point on the surface of the planet, on which are the lines of the magnetic field point – the magnetic field protects the planet from space radiation, and there are birds that use the magnetic field to guide them in their migrations. In 2005, the North Magnetic Pole was located in northern Canada, but as the orientation of the magnetic field changes over time, a geomagnetic inversion phenomenon eventually occurs.

This inversion is precisely the change in the orientation of the planet's magnetic field, when the north and south poles of magnetism are reversed. During the change, there is a decrease in the intensity of the magnetic field, which is restored quickly after the new orientation has been established. But this occurs on a scale of tens of thousands of years (or more), the last reversal having occurred 78,000 years ago.

Join our CANALTECH DISCOUNT GROUP Whatsapp, Facebook and

Over the last hundred years, the direction of the compbad has always shifted north, but these years, scientists began to realize that the routine of the North Pole was changing rapidly, and no one could explain why. The changes were so significant that scientists began working on an emergency update of the global magnetic model, the mathematical system that serves as the basis for navigation, including mobile phone systems. However, on Monday (4), the model has finally been upgraded and the correct magnetic north can already be released.

The image shows the functioning of the Earth's magnetic field and the position of the north and south poles, both geographically and magnetically (Image: Getty Images) [19659006MagneticNorthisoneofthe"NorthPoles"oftheEarthThereisthe"truenorth"theextremenorthoftheaxisofrotationoftheplanetwhichisnotalignedwiththemagnetosphere(themagneticbubblethatprotectstheplanet)TheEarth'smagneticfieldisslightlyinclinedwithrespecttotheaxisofrotationThenorthendofthemagnetlocatedontheEarth'scorepointstothenorthwesterncoastofGreenland(the"geomagneticpole")

the north that our compbades locate) is defined as the point at which the magnetic field lines point vertically. And, unlike the geomagnetic north, this magnetic north is more sensitive to the flux of liquid iron found in the heart of the Earth. In 1831, James Clark Ross located magnetic north on Canadian islands. Since it has been found that the magnetic currents of the magnetic field, this magnetic north is moving more and more to the north of the planet and has crossed hundreds of kilometers only in recent decades. In order to monitor these changes, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the British Geological Survey have developed the global magnetic model that allows anyone in the world to locate magnetic north properly. Every five years, this model is updated, this interval allowing scientists to verify the accuracy of the model against the data obtained with various magnetic observatories.

Already in the 1990s, magnetic north was starting to move faster. that in the past, and in 2018, the scientists of the project understood that the model would soon be obsolete and that it could not be used in magnetism-based navigation systems. The next official update will only occur in 2020, but it was necessary to wait for it early in 2019. Such a change has occurred recently in the magnetic north direction.

Why Change Happens Faster and What Changes in Practice [19659014] The animation shows the movement of the magnetic north pole at a 10-year interval from 1970 to what is predicted for 2020. Green lines , when united, indicate magnetic north (Image: NOAA National Environmental Information Center)

The magnetic north pole appears to be controlled by two magnetic field fields, one located in northern Canada and the other in Siberia. The Canadian point historically seemed to be the strongest, but this has recently changed: the Siberian point is gaining more and more strength, as if the two points were fighting hard and Canada was starting to lose the battle. This could be the result of a jet into the planet's core, weakening the magnetic field that is found in the Canadian region – but this hypothesis has not yet been confirmed

However, for Ciaran Beggan , geophysicist of the British Geological Survey, there is no evidence a geomagnetic inversion is occurring "and even if there were any, geological records show that these things tend to take at least a few thousand years. " So we can remain quiet because the planet remains protected from space radiation thanks to its magnetic field, even with this change of direction.

Currently, the magnetic north point moves at 54 km per year and in 2000, this speed was 14 km / year. And as the cause of this movement comes from the inside of the planet, there is not much to do besides tracking the changes and updating the models that guide the navigation systems of the planet. whole world. Civil navigation systems such as GPS, for example, are not significantly affected because their main reference sources come from satellites.

However, the magnetic north movement affects the compbad, which impacts directly on shipping and aviation, particularly in the Arctic region. Navigation organizations need to know the correct position of magnetic north to guide themselves, and that is exactly what the global magnetic model, which has just been updated, is serving.

Source: National Geographic, NOAA

[ad_2]
Source link