Over time we have seen that Earth’s magnetic north pole has been moving towards Russia at a fast rate. A team of researchers believes they’ve identified what is causing this shift. These changes can impact everyday navigation, mapping systems, and more.
An article from Forbes says, “Earth’s magnetic field is governed by the flow of materials in our planet’s core, and it seems that two competing magnetic “blobs” along the outer core are pulling at the magnetic north pole.”
The magnetized patches are underneath Canada and Siberia. With the shift going quickly towards Russia, researches have noticed the patch under Siberia has overpowered the other.
Dr. Philip Livermore from the University of Leeds in the UK said, “this is why the North Pole has left its historic position over the Canadian Arctic and crossed over the International Date Line. Northern Russia is winning the ‘tug of war’ if you like.”
Around 2001 the movement started to accelerate and by the time we got to 2019, it has moved all the way north. The researchers used data from European satellites that measure Earth’s magnetic field. Livermore’s team says the magnetic shift is still predicted to keep moving.
With Siberia taking the lead in this tug of war, researchers predict that the north magnetic pole will continue to travel along its current trajectory.
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