We sit on our perch precariously. When I visted McDonadl's observatory, the visitors' center showed a film that made a great impression. The CGI showed a tiny earth moving through the fiery sea of the suns extreme atmosphere, protected from extinction only by the earth magnetic field. Having seen this I can hardly take serious the global warning crowd. A slight blip in that magnetic field could cause more change than all the works of man. But ditto with some monstrous volcanic event(s). Puny, puny man. Yet....
North Magnetic Pole could be leaving CanadaThe magnetic pole, which has steadily drifted for decades, has picked up its pace in recent years and could exit Canadian territory as soon as 2004, said Larry Newitt of the Geological Survey of Canada. If the pole follows its present course, it will pass north of Alaska and arrive in Siberia in a half century, but Newitt cautioned that such predictions could prove wrong. The erratic pole can jump around considerably each day, but migrates on average about 10 kilometers to 40 kilometers each year. Friend of navigators for centuries, beckoning compass needles from virtually every point on the planet, the North Magnetic Pole is distinct from the North Terrestrial Pole, the fixed point that marks the axis of the turning planet. The magnetic pole is currently 966 kilometers (600 miles) from the geographic one. Because the magnetic pole lies in the Arctic Ocean, scientists attempting to pinpoint its precise location must visit during a brief window in the spring. The North Magnetic Pole historically is resurveyed about once every decade. But Newitt and colleagues, who last studied the site in 2001, might attempt another trek in 2003 to investigate further its accelerated migration.
by Richard Stenger
wandering magnetic pole image
March 20, 2002