Earth's Shifting Magnetic Field
Earth's north pole has been known to be moving ever since the first expeditions located it. In the 20th century, it moved an average of 10km per year, but lately, it's been accelerating to about 40km per year. At this rate, it's predicted to leave Canada and enter Siberia in the coming decades. Not only that, but in the last 100 years, the magnetic field strength has weakened about 10%. Time to sound the alarm? Probably not. Earth is pretty dynamic, and the magnetic field has been known to do lots of crazy things -- it won't stop the doomsayers though! To see some computer simulations of the Earth's magnetic field, click here, and here, and here!
Earth's north pole has been known to be moving ever since the first expeditions located it. In the 20th century, it moved an average of 10km per year, but lately, it's been accelerating to about 40km per year. At this rate, it's predicted to leave Canada and enter Siberia in the coming decades. Not only that, but in the last 100 years, the magnetic field strength has weakened about 10%. Time to sound the alarm? Probably not. Earth is pretty dynamic, and the magnetic field has been known to do lots of crazy things -- it won't stop the doomsayers though! To see some computer simulations of the Earth's magnetic field, click here, and here, and here!
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