Editing Polar drift

{{Short description|Geological phenomenon resulting in shifts in the magnetic poles}}
[[File:Magnetic North Pole Positions 2015.svg|thumb|upright=1.1|The North Magnetic Pole's drift]]
'''Polar drift''' is a geological phenomenon caused by variations in the flow of molten [[iron]] in [[Earth's outer core]], resulting in changes in the orientation of [[Earth's magnetic field]], and hence the position of the magnetic [[north magnetic pole|north]]- and [[south magnetic pole|south pole]]s.

The [[North magnetic pole]] is approximately {{convert|965|km|}} from the geographic [[North Pole]]. The pole drifts considerably each day, which results in a change of 5-60 km per year. The speed of the change was around 10 km/year for the majority of the 20th century, then increased in the 1990s to over 50 km/year, but slowed down slightly after 2020.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20091228073445/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/12/091224-north-pole-magnetic-russia-earth-core.html North Magnetic Pole Moving Due to Core Flux, National Geographic News, December 24, 2009]</ref>
<ref>[https://earth-planets-space.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s40623-020-01288-x#Fig4 International Geomagnetic Reference Field: the thirteenth generation (2021) Retrieved 2024-11-24] </ref>

The [[South magnetic pole]] is constantly shifting due to changes in the Earth's magnetic field.
{{as of|2005}} it was calculated to lie at {{Coord|64|31|48|S|137|51|36|E|region:AQ_type:landmark}},<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/products/geomagnetism-frequently-asked-questions|title=Geomagnetism Frequently Asked Questions |publisher=[[NGDC]]|access-date=11 January 2009}}</ref> placing it off the coast of Antarctica, between [[Adélie Land]] and [[Wilkes Land]]. 

In 2015, it lay at {{coord|64.28|S|136.59|E|region:AQ_type:landmark}} (est).<ref name=BritishGeological>[http://www.geomag.bgs.ac.uk/education/poles.html British Geological Survey – Magnetic Poles]</ref> That point lies outside the [[Antarctic Circle]] and it is moving northwest by about {{convert|10|to|15|km|abbr=on|0}} per year. Its current distance from the actual [[South Pole|Geographic South Pole]] is approximately {{convert|2860|km|}}.<ref name="NGDC">{{cite web |title=Wandering of the Geomagnetic Poles |url=https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/products/wandering-geomagnetic-poles |author=NOAA National Geophysical Data Center |access-date=October 10, 2011}}</ref> The nearest permanent science station is [[Dumont d'Urville Station]]. Wilkes Land contains a large gravitational [[Wilkes Land crater#Wilkes Land mass concentration|mass concentration]].

{{col-begin|width=66%}}
{{col-2}}
; North magnetic pole<ref>{{cite web|url=http://gsc.nrcan.gc.ca/geomag/nmp/northpole_e.php|title=Geomagnetism, North Magnetic Pole|work=Geological Survey of Canada|publisher=Natural Resources Canada|accessdate=12 January 2019|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100326235810/http://gsc.nrcan.gc.ca/geomag/nmp/northpole_e.php|archivedate=26 March 2010}}</ref>
: 1900: {{coord|70.5|N|96.2|W|}} 
: 1905: {{coord|70.7|N|96.5|W|}}
: 1910: {{coord|70.8|N|96.7|W|}}
: 1915: {{coord|71.0|N|97.0|W|}}
: 1920: {{coord|71.3|N|97.4|W|}}
: 1925: {{coord|71.8|N|98.0|W|}}
: 1930: {{coord|72.3|N|98.7|W|}}
: 1935: {{coord|72.8|N|99.3|W|}}
: 1940: {{coord|73.3|N|99.9|W|}}
: 1945: {{coord|73.9|N|100.2|W|}}
: 1950: {{coord|74.6|N|100.9|W|}}
: 1955: {{coord|75.2|N|101.4|W|}}
: 1960: {{coord|75.3|N|101.0|W|}}
: 1965: {{coord|75.6|N|101.3|W|}}
: 1970: {{coord|75.9|N|101.0|W|}}
: 1975: {{coord|76.2|N|100.6|W|}}
: 1980: {{coord|76.9|N|101.7|W|}}
: 1985: {{coord|77.4|N|102.6|W|}}
: 1990: {{coord|78.1|N|103.7|W|}}
: 1995: {{coord|79.0|N|105.3|W|}}
: 2000: {{coord|81.0|N|109.6|W|}}
: 2005: {{coord|83.2|N|118.2|W|}}
: 2010: {{coord|85.0|N|132.8|W|}}
: 2011: {{coord|85.4|N|137.4|W|}}
: 2012: {{coord|85.7|N|142.5|W|}}
: 2013: {{coord|85.9|N|148.0|W|}}
: 2014: {{coord|86.1|N|153.9|W|}}
: 2015: {{coord|86.3|N|160.0|W|}}
: 2016: {{coord|86.4|N|166.3|W|}}
: 2017: {{coord|86.5|N|172.6|W|}}
: 2018: {{coord|86.5|N|178.8|W|}}
: 2019: {{coord|86.4|N|175.3|E|}}
: 2020: {{coord|86.4|N|169.8|E|}}
<ref name=BritishGeological/><ref name="WDCG-Kyoto">{{cite web|url=http://wdc.kugi.kyoto-u.ac.jp/poles/polesexp.html|title=Magnetic North, Geomagnetic and Magnetic Poles|author=World Data Center for Geomagnetism, Kyoto|accessdate=2019-01-12}}</ref>


{{col-2}}
; South magnetic pole
: 1998: {{coord|64.6|S|138.5|E|}}
: 2004: {{coord|63.5|S|138.0|E|}} (estimated)
: 2007: {{coord|64.497|S|137.684|E|}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.antarctica.gov.au/about-antarctica/fact-files/geography/poles-and-directions|title=Poles and Directions|publisher=Australian Antarctic Division|year=2011|accessdate=October 11, 2011}}</ref>
: 2015: {{coord|64.28|S|136.59|E|}}<ref name=BritishGeological/>
{{col-end}}

==See also==
* [[Geomagnetic excursion]]
* [[Geomagnetic reversal]]
* [[Polar wander]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070605175632/http://www.physics.sfasu.edu/astro/img/northpoledrift.gif A map of polar drift over the past 200 years]

[[Category:Polar regions of the Earth]]
[[Category:Geomagnetism]]


{{geophysics-stub}}