On June 1, 1831, James Clark Ross found the north magnetic pole just off the eastern coast of the Boothia Peninsula, in the Canadian Arctic. I could give you the coordinates, but it’s not there anymore. In fact, it’s not even close.
It was first on 16 January 1909 three men (Douglas Mawson, Edgeworth David, and Alistair Mackay) from Sir Ernest Shackleton ‘s Nimrod Expedition claimed to have found the south magnetic pole, which was at that time located on land.
Dominion Observatory scientists located the north magnetic Pole in 1948 on Prince of Wales Island using a special electronic instrument developed by Paul Serson that accurately measured and recorded the direction and dip of the magnetic field.
I was born that year, but not util 15 years later I started to find these observations remarkably interesting.
After signing on a merchant navy vessel in 1963, I was lucky to make friend with the Ship telegraphist who helped me to learn more about the magnetic poles.
The World Magnetic Model is far from being just another scientific curiosity: it is not only the “map” that describes the magnetic field of the planet, but it is also one of the systems that allow things as diverse as the navigation systems of ships or google maps, giving information to our mobile phones today.
The north magnetic pole and the Earth’s magnetic field help GPS and other navigation systems pinpoint users’ locations.
Earth’s north magnetic pole keeps shifting. Each year, it moves north by an average of about 30 miles. In 2025 it will be situated close to Siberia, Russia.
During the 1990s, the North Magnetic Pole went from moving at 15 kilometers per year to reaching 55. Thus, the magnetic North Pole will move more in the first two decades of the century than in the previous hundred years.
The South Atlantic Anomaly is nowadays one of the most key features of the Earth’s magnetic field. Its extent area at the Earth’s surface is continuously growing since the intensity instrumental measurements are available covering part of the Southern Hemisphere. This can also be the Key for a Possible Geomagnetic Reversal.
This year, 2023, a connection has been discovered between the Earth’s magnetic poles and the strong solar storms that have been unfolding in recent months. Sun flares have affected the communication system on satellites as well as terrestrial transmitters, but also have an impact on the earth’s protective system, the magnetic fields.
Finally, we know truly little what will happen if the magnetic poles continue to move at increased speed. What we do know is that pole shifts have occurred several times throughout Earth’s history, with great devastation as a result.
Unfortunately, we the people, or the world’s leaders, cannot influence on such a natural development and we can only hope that it does not happen in the foreseeable future.
You can find previous articles here: Earth’s north magnetic pole is on the move. – Curt Bergsten (windmush.com) Is our planet Earth preparing a new era? – Curt Bergsten (windmush.com)
Thanks for reading my blog.
#Windmush / #Curt
