The North Magnetic Pole is currently moving towards Russia in a way that British scientists have not seen.
Scientists have tracked the North Magnetic Pole for centuries, telling Britain's Times magazine that it had moved closer to Canada's northern coast. In the 1990s, it moved into the Atlantic before moving in a faster way towards Siberia in Russia.
The magnetic North Pole is sometimes confused with the geographic North Pole, but this location lies at the same place where all lines of longitude converge.
Between the years 1600 and 1900, scientists estimate that the North Magnetic Pole moved about 9.6 kilometers per year. At the beginning of this century, it increased to about 55 kilometers per year, before slowing in the last five years to 35.4 kilometers per year.Scientists say these movements are tracked by the British Geological Survey and the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to jointly create the World Magnetic Model that predicts where the North Magnetic Pole should be at any given time. The model plays a role in the GPS systems that people use.
What causes the movements?