The Great Magnetic Migration: Discover How Far Earth’s North Pole Has Wandered!

Researchers from the UK have recently disclosed that the Earth’s magnetic north pole is shifting towards Russia at an increased rate and is now positioned closer to Siberia than it was five years ago. As reported by CNN, specialists have been monitoring the Earth’s magnetic north pole for centuries using the World Magnetic Model. Established by the British Geological Survey (BGS) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), this model records the fixed location of the magnetic north and forecasts future movements based on prior patterns. Every five years, scientists revise the WMM by updating the recognized location of magnetic north and generating new predictions. 

In December, the research team unveiled two models, indicating that the pole is now nearer to Siberia than it was five years ago and continues to drift towards Russia. 

Importantly, in contrast to the geographical North Pole, the magnetic north pole of our planet is determined by the Earth’s magnetic field, which is perpetually in motion and not fixed. Researchers observed that in recent years, the behavior of the magnetic field has been extraordinary. At times, it accelerates while at other moments, it decelerates abruptly. Nevertheless, scientists are unable to conclusively elucidate the reasons for this peculiar behavior, as reported by CNN .

British explorer Sir James Clark Ross identified the magnetic north pole in 1831 in northern Canada, roughly 1,609 kilometers south of the geographical north pole. However, since that time, the magnetic north has drifted away from Canada and toward Russia, according to experts. They state that the magnetic pole has shifted 400 kilometers northwest from its initial position in 1831. It reached Prince Wales Island in 1948, and by 2000, had moved away from the Canadian coastline. 

“It has generally shifted about 10 km (6.2 miles) annually or less over the previous 400 years,” stated Dr. William Brown, a geophysicist and geomagnetism researcher at the British Geological Survey, as noted by CNN. 

Also read | Alien-Looking ‘Supergiant’ Sea Bug Named After Star Wars Villain Darth Vader

However, researchers pointed out that the most recent WMM update comes after a phase of highly unusual activity for the magnetic north pole. They noted that the drift accelerated in 1990, rising from 15 kilometers per year to 55 kilometers per year. Then around 2015, the drift diminished to approximately 35 kilometers per year. By 2019, the deviations had strayed so far from the previous model that scientists revised the WMM a year in advance.

Currently, researchers anticipate that the drift towards Russia will continue to decelerate; however, there is some ambiguity about the duration of the slowdown and whether it will persist at its current speed. 

“It could change its rate, or even speed up again. We will keep monitoring the field and evaluate the performance of the WMM, but we do not foresee needing to issue a new model before the scheduled update in 2030,” Dr. Brown remarked.