Magnetic north pole on the move

...
Earth’s magnetic pole is moving in the direction of Siberia and away from Canada. This is something that scientists have been tracking for a long time. ... the direction of the drifting pole has been roughly the same for as long as scientists have been tracking it. The speed is the issue.
...
Every five years scientists recalculate the location of the magnetic pole. This is important information for global navigation, which includes GPS satellites and other technology. These changes can make a big difference in our everyday lives.

Scientists at NOAA and the British Geological Survey check how accurate the World Magnetic Model is every year and when they did their check this year they noticed some large differences. Primarily that the pole’s movement had sped up. The location data for the pole was supposed to last until 2020 before it needed to be updated but according to experts at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, it needs to be updated now.
...
The global model was off because of a geomagnetic pulse the occurred beneath South America in 2016. ... The poles movement has sped up in recent memory from 9 miles a year in the 1990s to about 34 miles a year at present day. A new model needs to be implemented as soon as possible and even then they will have to rework the model again in 2020. Until then navigation might be affected.

What caused the geomagnetic pulse beneath South America is unknown. ...

Click to expand...

...
Scientists on Monday released an emergency update to the World Magnetic Model, which cellphone GPS systems and military navigators use to orient themselves. It’s a minor change for most of us — noticeable only to people who are attempting to navigate very precisely very close to the Arctic.
...
The planet’s magnetic field is generated nearly 2,000 miles beneath our feet, in the swirling, spinning ball of molten metal that forms Earth’s core. Changes in that underground flow can alter Earth’s magnetic field lines — and the poles where they converge. Consequently, magnetic north doesn’t align with geographic north (the end point of Earth’s rotational axis), and it’s constantly on the move. Records of ancient magnetic fields from extremely old rocks show that the poles can even flip — an event that has occurred an average of three times every million years.
...
Curiously, the south magnetic pole hasn’t mirrored the peregrinations of its northern counterpart. Since 1990, its location has remained relatively stable, off the coast of eastern Antarctica.
...
Some have speculated that Earth is overdue for another magnetic field reversal — an event that hasn’t happened for 780,000 years — and the North Pole’s recent restlessness may be a sign of a cataclysm to come.
...

Click to expand...

...
From 1600 to 1990, it is estimated to have moved about 10-15km a year. In the early 2000s, it sped up to around 55km a year, Dr Brown told The Independent.

The data comes from the World Magnetic Model, created by the British Geological Survey (BGS) in collaboration with the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The model forecasts the location of the pole at any given time. The new model is set to be released in December.

In the past five years, the magnetic north pole has significantly slowed down to about 25km a year.
...

Click to expand...

Peter89 said:

...
One question: you posted about the magnetic North Pole. Given that these poles are the extremes of the magnetic axis, the magnetic South Pole should specularly shift the same, right?

Click to expand...

rblong2us said:

https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/11/16/16/iStock-1306373917.jpg?quality=75&width=1250&crop=3%3A2%2Csmart&auto=webp

Looks like it’s done it’s shifting and heading back to the centre of rotation for the surface crust.
Yeah could oscillate a bit as it settles……

Click to expand...

NASA has been monitoring a strange anomaly in Earth's magnetic field: a giant region of lower magnetic intensity in the skies above the planet, stretching out between South America and southwest Africa.

This vast, developing phenomenon, called the South Atlantic Anomaly, has intrigued and concerned scientists for years, and perhaps none more so than NASA researchers.

The space agency's satellites and spacecraft are particularly vulnerable to the weakened magnetic field strength within the anomaly, and the resulting exposure to charged particles from the Sun.

The South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA) – likened by NASA to a 'dent' in Earth's magnetic field, or a kind of 'pothole in space' – generally doesn't affect life on Earth, but the same can't be said for orbital spacecraft (including the International Space Station), which pass directly through the anomaly as they loop around the planet at low-Earth orbit altitudes.
...

Click to expand...

NASA Is Tracking a Massive Anomaly in Earth’s Magnetic Field — And It’s Getting Worse​