Magnetic North

[Coast]

It sounds unlikely but it's true: the magnetic north pole is moving faster than at any time in human history, threatening everything from the safety of modern transport systems to the traditional navigation routes of migrating animals.

Scientists say that magnetic north, which for two centuries has been in the icy wilderness of Canada, is currently relocating towards Russia at a rate of about 40 miles a year. The speed of its movement has increased by a third in the past decade, prompting speculation that the field could be about to "flip", causing compasses to invert and point south rather than north, something that happens between three and seven times every million years.

Already the phenomenon is causing problems in the field of aviation. Tampa International airport in Florida has just spent a month renaming its three runways, which in common with those at most US airports are identified using numbers that correspond to the direction, in degrees, that they face on a compass. "Everything had to be changed; it was a huge project," Brenda Geoghagan, a spokeswoman for the airport, said.

The current rate of magnetic north's movement away from Canada's Ellesmere Island is throwing out compasses by roughly one degree every five years, prompting the US Federal Aviation Administration to re-evaluate runway names across the country every five years. Similar changes were recently made to runways at Fort Lauderdale and Palm Beach

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/adjust-your-compass-now-the-north-pole-is-migrating-to-russia-2233610.html

Well I've still managed to find work this morning

[Nath]

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/adjust-your-compass-now-the-north-pole-is-migrating-to-russia-2233610.html

Well I've still managed to find work this morning

Interesting stuff. I recently saw a TV docu on this and it was going on about several years or decades with reduced protection from the suns harmful radiation whilst it flips. All year round suntans maybe LOL

[Backtrack]

24.5k miles around earth. At 37 miles a year it will take about 700 years to flip. So we won't be here lol.

Edited March 10, 2011 by Backtrack

[Argyllcraig]

As someone who mountaineers i have to allow for magnetic variation...... nothing new, depending on the age of the map determines how many degrees the magnetic pole has moved.