Earth's North Pole Is Moving From Canada To Russia At 60 Km Per Year, No One Knows Why

It is a common notion that the north pole and the south pole of the Earth are fixed. Also we think the Earth has only one north pole.

However, this isn't true, as believe it or not, one of the north poles is shifting from its original place in Canada towards Siberia in Russia at a top speed of 50-60 km a year.

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Note that this movement in the position has been found out for only one north pole. Earth has a total of three. One geographic pole corresponding to the planet's rotation axis, one geomagnetic pole that best fits a classic dipole and one North Magnetic Pole, the point where magnetic field lines are perpendicular to the surface.

As can be seen, the north Geomagnetic pole is different from the north magnetic pole. This is because the Earth's magnetic fields are not exactly dipolar. A fourth, lesser known and mentioned pole is the instantaneous north pole, where Earth's rotational axis meets its surface and the celestial north pole.

(Image: P. Livermore)

European scientists have pointed out the drift of the North Magnetic Pole and explained the reason behind the same. A team from Leeds University explains that this drift has been caused by the competition of two magnetic "blobs" on the edge of the Earth's outer core.

In simple words, the magnetic pole is drifting due to a change in the flow of molten material in the Earth's interior. The new flow pattern has altered the strength of the regions above the surface having negative magnetic flux.

"This change in the pattern of flow has weakened the patch under Canada and ever so slightly increased the strength of the patch under Siberia," explained Dr Phil Livermore. "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," he told BBC News.

First identified by explorer James Clark Ross in the 1830s in Canada's Nunavut territory, very fast movement of the north magnetic pole has been recorded since the 1990s. In late 2017 the magnetic pole came to within just a few hundred kilometres of the geographic pole.

Dr Livermore and colleagues were able to record this movement using data from satellites measuring the evolution of Earth's magnetic field over the past 20 years.

(Representative Image: Reuters)

The latest model by the team predicts the magnetic pole to further move towards Russia, eventually slowing down. "Whether or not it will move back again in the future is anyone's guess," the Leeds scientist said.

The shifting of the pole has also been accommodated for in all navigation devices, including the smartphones and their GPS. The team has now published its research in the journal Nature Geoscience.