An expert on Earth’s internal mechanisms has revealed that the planet actually has two north poles, and the movement of one of them could disrupt travel globally.
Scott Brame of Clemson University explained that “Magnetic North Pole” it moves, changing the direction indicated by the compass, so that without regular updates of navigation systems, everyday tools such as maps on the phone could give wrong directions, writes the Daily Mail.
If the pole moves faster than expected and the models are not updated in time, this could cause larger errors in phone or car GPS applications, resulting in lost orientation, longer routes or even safety risks in isolated areas.
Brame is a research professor specializing in geology and underground water sources hidden below the Earth’s surface, also known as hydrogeology.
Although there is a point called “true north”located at the end of the Earth’s axis, Brame said that there is also a “magnetic north”which has been moving through northern Canada for centuries. But since the 1990s, that movement has accelerated dramatically, increasing from about six to nine miles a year to about 34 miles a year, according to scientists.
A 2020 study published in the journal Nature Geoscience explains that this acceleration was mainly caused by changes in the flow of molten iron from Earth’s outer core, which changes the planet’s magnetic field, although the exact trigger remains unknown.
So when Santa finishes delivering his presents on Eve, he could use a compass, but he faces a challenge: he must correctly identify the North Pole, since the one on the map and the one used by the compass are not identical.
The two north poles
The geographic North Pole, also called true north, is the point at one end of the Earth’s axis of rotation.
One can experiment with a tennis ball: holding the ball in the right hand with the thumb down and the middle finger up, and spinning the ball with the left hand, where the thumb and middle finger touch the ball defines the axis of rotation. It stretches from the South Pole to the North Pole, passing through the center of the ball.
The magnetic North Pole is different.
More than 1,000 years ago, explorers began using compasses—usually a floating cork or piece of wood with a magnetized needle—to orient themselves. The earth has a magnetic field that acts like a giant magnet, and the compass needle aligns with it.
The magnetic North Pole is used by devices like phones for navigation – and it moves over time.
Why does the magnetic North Pole move?
The movement of the magnetic North Pole is the result of the existence of an active core of the Earth. The inner core, about 3,200 miles below our feet, is solid and under so much pressure that it cannot melt. But the outer core is molten, made up of molten iron and nickel.
The heat in the inner core causes the molten iron and nickel in the outer core to move, like soup boiling in a pot on a fire. The movement of this iron-rich liquid generates a magnetic field that surrounds the entire planet.
As the molten iron moves, the magnetic North Pole moves.
In the past 600 years or so, the pole a “roaming” over northern Canada. It moved relatively slowly, between six and nine miles per year, until around 1990, when its speed increased dramatically to about 34 miles per year.
About a century ago, it began to move in the direction of the geographic North Pole. Scientists can’t say exactly why, except that it reflects a change in the flow of the outer core.
How Santa Claus returns home
If Santa’s residence is the geographic North Pole—situated, by the way, in the middle of the ice-covered Arctic Ocean—how does he adjust his compass if the two North Poles are in different locations?
Regardless of the device used – compass or phone – both rely on magnetic north to determine the correct direction.
Although modern GPS systems can pinpoint your position as you head to grandma’s house, they can’t show the correct direction without knowing magnetic north.
If Santa uses a classic compass, he must make the correction between true north and magnetic north. For that, he needs to know the declination at that location—the angle between true and magnetic north—and adjust the compass. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration offers an online calculator that can help.
If using a phone, it has a built-in magnetometer that automatically makes the correction. The phone measures the Earth’s magnetic field at that location and uses the World Magnetic Model for precise navigation.
Whichever method is used, Santa relies on magnetic north to find his way home and back. Or maybe the reindeer just know the way.
