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North Pole Heads South

Posted by CowboyNeal on from the change-in-latitudes dept.

blamanj writes "Things are not looking good for Santa. First, news that it's getting warmer at the North Pole, and now, scientists report that the (magnetic) pole itself is on the move. 'Earth's north magnetic pole is drifting from North America at such a clip that it could end up in Siberia in the next 50 years.'"

27 of 393 comments (clear)

  1. Pole Reversal? by MichaelSmith · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Is it true that we are overdue for a reversal in the polarity of the Earths magnetic field? Would this be a Bad Thing for us humans if it happened soon?

    --
    http://michaelsmith.id.au
    1. Re:Pole Reversal? by Max+von+H. · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Is it true that we are overdue for a reversal in the polarity of the Earths magnetic field? Would this be a Bad Thing for us humans if it happened soon?

      Yes, it would be a Very Bad Thing (tm) because when a reversal happens, we're left without the Earth's magnetic field, which protects us from lethal cosmic rays which are high enery/DNA disruptive stuff, such as gamma rays among other niceties.

      Magnetic field reversals coincide with mass surface life extinctions, I'll bet it won't do us any good if it happens in our lifetime.

      --
      -- It's always darker before it goes pitch black.
    2. Re:Pole Reversal? by luvirini · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Well the shift around the globe to Siberia is something that has apparently happened before.. the magnetic pole has never been stationary, but what is news in the article is the fact that the mevement speed seems to be accelerating.

    3. Re:Pole Reversal? by stupid_is · · Score: 4, Informative
      Yes it is (both). This article goes into some speculative detail. Upshot is, possibly damaging a shed load of electrical devices, disruption to electrical grids, etc....

      Could be interesting times (mental note: buy manual tin opener)

      --
      -- Intelligence is soluble in alcohol
    4. Re:Pole Reversal? by Yahweh+Doesn't+Exist · · Score: 5, Insightful

      not true. even when flipping there is enough of a field to protect us. plus the magnetic field does nothing to protect us from gamma rays anyway. if a gamma ray burst happens anywhere in our neighbourhood and is aimed at us, then we're fucked field or no field. there are cosmic rays passing through us every second anyway.

    5. Re:Pole Reversal? by cervo · · Score: 3, Informative

      Well hmm according to http://image.gsfc.nasa.gov/poetry/venus/RevScience .html the earth's magnetic field does not cause mass surface life extinctions. If you would like to make an assertion like that, you really do have to back it up with something. In fact it will cause little change in the way things function, maybe a few thousand extra cases of cancer each year. Now if the field never came back and our atomosphere ionized, then we would be screwed.

    6. Re:Pole Reversal? by ortholattice · · Score: 3, Informative
      Yes, it would be a Very Bad Thing (tm) because when a reversal happens, we're left without the Earth's magnetic field

      Supercomputer simulations do not show that. According to the site: "Reversals take a few thousand years to complete, and during that time--contrary to popular belief--the magnetic field does not vanish. 'It just gets more complicated,' says Glatzmaier. Magnetic lines of force near Earth's surface become twisted and tangled, and magnetic poles pop up in unaccustomed places. A south magnetic pole might emerge over Africa, for instance, or a north pole over Tahiti. Weird. But it's still a planetary magnetic field, and it still protects us from space radiation and solar storms."

    7. Re:Pole Reversal? by mrogers · · Score: 3, Funny

      Don't be silly, people aren't magnetic. It will only affect metal things like coins and buses.

  2. The Russian are trying to steal our pole ! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Quick, call G.W. Bush that the russians are stealing the pole to hide weapons of mass destruction in siberia !
    We haven't found them in Iraq, so they MUST be some else.

    1. Re:The Russian are trying to steal our pole ! by Carewolf · · Score: 5, Funny

      In Soviet Russia compasses attracts the North Pole.

  3. Not at the... by confused+one · · Score: 4, Funny

    Santa doesn't live at the magnetic North Pole, silly.

  4. this is news? by v1 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    The magnetic poles have been moving for what, millions of years, and science has known about this for many years now. Magnetic history found in rock has shown the poles have actually completely switched places several times in the past.

    --
    I work for the Department of Redundancy Department.
  5. Good gravy! by tbone1 · · Score: 4, Funny
    Even the North Magnetic Pole is getting outsourced! It's a sorry world.

    --

    The Independent: Reverend Spooner Arrested in Friar Tuck Incident - ISIHAC, Historical Headlines
  6. South Pole will be Chile or Argentina? by digitaldc · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Does this mean the South Pole will shift to Chile or Argentina as well?

    --
    He who knows best knows how little he knows. - Thomas Jefferson
  7. When the north pole moves... by Lostie · · Score: 3, Funny

    ... is it called pole-vaulting?

  8. No piccies by DavidHOzAu · · Score: 5, Informative

    But this site sure has them and this site has some too.
    Read them. They are worth it.

    It looks like there are two magnetic norths on the planet. Our current one looks like it is just the additive of the major and minor magnetic fields of the earth with their collective strengths oscillating over time... hence the apparent movement.

  9. Magnetic North Pole by metlin · · Score: 4, Informative

    The magnetic North Pole has never been a single point.

    It has always been a general area, and at any given point of time, the *actual* North Pole would be somewhere in that area.

    So, given that, this is not really surprising.

    1. Re:Magnetic North Pole by Ethelred+Unraed · · Score: 3, Funny

      Personally I think we should send a commando squad to nail it into place.

      Especially if it's going to Siberia. Clearly it was a double agent from the Cold War. Because it is leaving the geographic North Pole, the North Pole will clearly get warmer, adding a whole new meaning to "Cold War". Thus we will have new war with Soviet Russia, which will be called the Warm War, so we'll dig up Reagan, who will tell the Russians to stop dancing around our pole (while the Poles will go on strike against martial law and double entendre).

      Some call me Nostradamus. Others call me "raving lunatic". You be the judge.

      Cheers,

      Ethelred

      --
      Everyone wants to be Ethelred. Even I want to be Ethelred.
  10. Re:By definition by Bazzalisk · · Score: 4, Informative
    Ah, no.

    The geographic north pole is north by definition, the magnetic north pole is not - so it can head south.

    --
    James P. Barrett
  11. Re:Make perfect sense to me. by TallMatthew · · Score: 4, Insightful
    That's uberliberal to you.

    I never understood conservatives' problems with environmental issues. Things like global warming, the eventual depletion of fossil fuels, deforestation ... why is it stupid to consider this issues like this? I mean we live on this planet, don't you think we should look out for it? We're not going to get another shot at this. Once we fuck it up, we're extinct.

    Politicians have a good reason to be anti-environment because they and their friends make serious bank by drilling oil, cutting down trees, running industries that pollute and the like. I can understand their point of view. But why does their profit mean anything to you? You realize that by supporting their point of view, you're just making them rich at the expense of the planet's (finite) resources, right?

  12. Rubbish by mrRay720 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Gamma rays are photons - i.e. light. They are not affected by the weak magnetif field surrounding the earth. Loss of the magnetic field would be devestating long term because it would make it easier for solar winds to slowly strip away the upper atmosphere.

    But... a weakened field for a few decades will not send us all to early graves. The biggest impact of a changing magnetic field would be to:
    - Navigation. I guess we all have to adjust to GPS and similar.
    - Animal navigation. Sadly birds, fish, etc. haven't yet implemented and learned how to use GPS. They'll have loads of trouble.

    In terms of dangers it poses to us in the next hundred or so years, should this be a continuation of the existing decrease/beginning of reversal in field strength, it's importance is way below things like climate change, oil reserves running out, etc.

    Nuisance for us, a bitch for animals that rely on it to migrate, but as a race, the danger from it is effectively zero.

    1. Re:Rubbish by ShamusYoung · · Score: 4, Interesting
      I'm sure you're right. Obviously birds have survived this before.

      Consider: Birds don't live for decades. If the pole were to shift within a year or two, it might very well hose the bird population. However, if a flip happens over the next 50 years, then there will be many bird generations between now and then. Each generation will get "used to" the new orientation as it happens.

      From a strictly Darwinian standpoint, this would explain why birds don't live very long. A bird that lives longer will experience more of the shift during its lifetime. During a shift, more of them will become lost and confused. Therefore, having a shorter lifespan is an advantage. Birds that live longer would tend to have more trouble during a shift, and would get weeded out of the gene pool from time to time.

      Stupid birds.

      --
      --This sig is in beta. Please let us know abut any errors you find.
    2. Re:Rubbish by SnapShot · · Score: 3, Insightful
      Birds don't live for decades.

      The Red-Tailed Black Cockatoo can live for up to 100 years. And, according to this article, "The [Albatross] is a survivor. It flies 1,900 kilometers (1,100 miles) per day, with pinpoint navigation, and returns to its nest repeatedly over its 50-year lifespan."
      --
      Waltz, nymph, for quick jigs vex Bud.
    3. Re:Rubbish by alanh · · Score: 3, Informative

      GPS Satellite are NOT in LEO. The GPS constellation orbits at 20,200 km. This is between the LEO sats: Iridiums (780km), the Hubble (569 km), the Space Station (351 km); but much lower than geosynchronous communications or weather satellites (35,786 km). They orbit the earth twice/day.

      For a really cool visual demonstration, check out J-Track 3D over at the NASA web site. The GPS satellites are just about the only thing you find between the cloud near the earth, and the Clarke Belt.

      --
      - AlanH
  13. Where else could it go? by vagabond_gr · · Score: 5, Funny

    North Pole Heads South

    Well, it didn't have much choice, did it? The north pole is the only place on earth where no matter where you're going, you're going south. So what's all the fuss about?

    (of course the fact that it is actually moving is quite a story)

  14. Re:Interesting fact by Mendokusei · · Score: 4, Informative

    Well, there's two ways of looking at it: either the Earth's magnetic poles are labelled wrongly, or EVERY OTHER MAGNET IN ALL HISTORY is labelled wrongly. Take your pick.

    Compasses aren't labelled incorrectly. The North side of a bar magnet in a compass is labelled North because that is the way it points, not for its magnetic pole. They aren't saying, "Hey, this is the North pole of this magnet," they are saying "Hey, this side of the magnet always points North." Those are two completely different meanings.

  15. Re:Yeah, by cervo · · Score: 4, Informative

    Have you read the NASA article that you linked? It says nothing about mass extinction events and polarity reversals in earth's history, it appears to be talking about mars. Now if you look at this link http://image.gsfc.nasa.gov/poetry/venus/RevScience .html you would see that field does not coincide with mass extinctions. Furthermore when the last one happened paleontologists said there were no major changes in plant an animal life. So your mass extinction seems like a leap of imagination.