He World Magnetic Model 2025 (WMM)prepared by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of the United States (NOAA) together with the British Geological Survey (BGS), has published the latest changes to our magnetic North Pole. And in recent years, it has been strikingly moving away from the Canadian Arctic and heading towards Siberia. Thus, while the geographic North Pole remains fixed on the planet’s axis of rotation, andThe magnetic field has moved 2,250 kilometers since its discovery in 1831to its current location.
Additionally, NOAA specifies that the registration of this modification It is key to global navigationas it ensures that technological systems that depend on the Earth’s magnetic field work correctly. «It is especially key for boat navigation, aircraft and GPS systemsincluding those on our smartphones when we use Google Maps,” they detail in a statement. In addition, Governments and organizations such as NATO are integrating this new modelwhich will be valid until the end of 2029, to maintain accuracy.
Arctic polar stereographic images of declination with the north dip magnetic pole and blackout zone indicated
William Brown, one of the authors of the BGS global geomagnetic field, has explained to the media that the magnetic pole has been moving slowly around Canada since the 16th century. However, There has been a dramatic acceleration in the last 20 years and it has increased in speed every year until about five years ago, when it slowed down from 50 to 35 kilometers per year. «The current behavior of magnetic north is something we have never observed before»Brown noted. “The biggest slowdown we have ever seen,” he added.
In fact, according to BGS data, if someone traveled 8,500 km from South Africa to the United Kingdom in a straight line using an old model of the magnetic North Pole, they would end up deviating 150 km from their destination.
Why does the magnetic North Pole move?
The magnetic North Pole depends on the behavior of the flows of liquid metals located between 2,890 and 5,000 kilometers below the planet’s surface. These move due to rotation and convection generated by heat. Its constant movement produces electrical currents that create the Earth’s magnetic field.
Bruce Buffett, a geophysicist at the University of California at Berkeley, explains to ‘Live Science’ that Without these fluid movements, the Earth would lose its magnetic field in approximately 40,000 years.. Similar to a hot cannonball that would gradually cool down to room temperature. «The same thing happens with the magnetic field. If we do not support it with these fluid movements, it will gradually disintegrate and disappear,” he says.
In 2019, research led by a team at the University of Leeds in England suggested that the competition of two giant magnetic lobesone under Canada and the other under Siberia, are responsible for the significant displacement observed.
The challenges and novelties of the model
«The real challenge, and the reason we publish a model every five years, is that it does not change on a regular basis. It is not completely predictable. It’s a really complicated and chaotic system.“Brown told ‘Live Science’. “Typically, around five years is when the accuracy of the model starts to get to the point where it is not as good as we would like. “So we make a better prediction with five more years of data to work with.”
And for this occasion it has been developed a high resolution map (WMMHR2025) which provides details every 300 km at the equator, compared to 3,300 km for the previous standard model. Therefore, we now have a much more detailed visualization that offers a definition ten times greater than that of other previous editions. And it allows these updates to be integrated into the logistics so that the user does not have to make any changes.
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