The North Magnetic Pole is moving towards Russia. What does this mean?
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The Earth's North Magnetic Pole shifts towards Russia. What does this mean?
2 months ago
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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.

Compass needles in the Northern Hemisphere point toward the magnetic North Pole, although its exact location changes from time to time as the contours of the Earth's magnetic field change.

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.

Why does the movement of the magnetic North Pole matter?

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?

The Earth's outer core consists of molten iron, a liquid metal. Unpredictable changes in the flow pattern cause the magnetic field around the Earth to shift, which then causes the magnetic core to move as well.

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