# Scientists Make Unplanned Update to World Magnetic Model as ‘North Pole’ Shifts Towar



## Geoff Gower (Sep 8, 2011)

Image Credit: National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI)
Scientists with the National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) have made an early update to World Magnetic Model (WMM), which helps navigation systems used by ships, planes, and submarines in the Arctic region.
Scientists say the unplanned update of the WMM comes as the Earth’s northern magnetic pole unpredictably moves quickly away from the Canadian Arctic towards Siberia.
Typically, a new and updated version of the WMM is released every five years, with the next scheduled release planned for the end of 2019. However, due to what has been described as “erratic changes” in the north polar region, scientists on Tuesday released a mid-cycle update to more accurately represent the change of the magnetic field between last update in 2015 and now.

The WMM is run by the British Geological Survey together with NCEI, which is part of the U.S. National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration.
“This out-of-cycle update before next year’s official release of WMM2020 will ensure safe navigation for military applications, commercial airlines, search and rescue operations, and others operating around the North Pole,” NCEI said in a release.

This map shows the location of the north magnetic pole (white star) and the magnetic declination (contour interval 2 degrees) at the beginning of 2019. Courtesy of NOAA NCEI/CIRES


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## callpor (Jan 31, 2007)

Yesterday's Old Salt Blog posted the following on this subject, which some members may find of interest?:-
Magnetic North Pole on the Move — How Big a Deal? 
Posted: 06 Feb 2019 12:53 PM PST
Recently, the media has somewhat breathlessly reported that the usually slow drift of the magnetic north pole has sped up dramatically. My favorite headline is from NPR which reads, “As Magnetic North Pole Zooms Toward Siberia, Scientists Update World Magnetic Model.” Is the magnetic pole really zooming?
Where magnetic north had been moving at an average speed of around 9 miles per year for some time, it has recently sped up to 34 miles per year. The increase was significant enough require a revision to the World Magnetic Model, (WMM) maintained jointly by the UK and the US. The model is typically updated every five years but was given a quick tweak recently to account for increased motion. 
While the increased motion is notable, to say that it is zooming is more than a bit hyperbolic. Even at 34 miles per year, the rate of drift is still ten times slower than the speed of an average garden snail. So call it a very slow zoom. 
The drifting of the magnetic north pole is thought to be due to the motion of a spinning mass of molten iron and nickel 1,800 miles below the surface. As the molten core moves through the mantle it changes the magnetic field. Why is the pole moving faster now? No one really knows.
So, is this a big deal. Obviously, for scientists who study magnetism and plate tectonics, the answer is an emphatic yes. For the rest of us, maybe not so much.
How much exactly will the revision someone using a magnetic compass? It depends where you are. The further north you go the more the movement of the magnetic pole matters. Here on the west bank of the Hudson River by New York City, the difference in declination, the angular difference between magnetic and true north, between 2015 and 2019 is exactly one-tenth of one degree, which is meaningless for anyone trying to steer a compass course. 
Oddly enough, users of some GPS units and smartphones may be more impacted by the change than users of conventional magnetic compasses. Many GPS units are equipped with electronic compasses and WMM to back up the GPS calculations when satellite signals are weak or blocked. Likewise, WMM comes pre-installed in Android and iOS devices.

Cheers, Chris


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