The updated version of the World Magnetic Model was launched this Tuesday, showing the changes in the magnetic north pole over the next five years.
O World Magnetic Modelupdated this Tuesday, is a mathematical model of how Earth’s magnetic field will shift and change over the next five years.
This model predicts the difference between magnetic north and true north at every point on Earth, playing a key role in satellite and airplane navigation and helping people find their way through navigation services. GPS.
“Your smartphone or GPS system has a magnetometerthat is, a built-in digital compass”, he explained to William BrownBGS geophysicist who helped create and update the World Magnetic Model.
“It measures the direction of the magnetic field where you are and enters your position into the World Magnetic Model software to tell you what the magnetic field should be like. And then, comparing what I measured and what I should have obtained, it is possible to know which direction you are in”, he continued to explain.
Although the changes are necessary to keep the navigation systems working – the Most users won’t notice nothing different as a result of the changes.
Where is the magnetic north pole?
As Live Science explains, the magnetic north pole is the point in the northern hemisphere where Earth’s magnetic field lines point directly toward the planet.
The complex movement of the outer core causes the magnetic north pole to move dozens of kilometers per year.
Because Earth’s magnetic field is slightly asymmetrical and more complex than that of a normal bar magnet, the south magnetic pole – the point in the Southern Hemisphere where the magnetic field points directly at the planet – does not move in the same way.
Changes in the strength of the magnetic field near the North Pole cause it to be moving from the Canadian Arctic to Siberiain recent years.
Model updated every 5 years
“The real challenge, and the reason we launch a model every five years, is that it doesn’t change on a regular basis. It’s not completely predictable. It’s a really complicated and chaotic system,” explained William Brown.
“Typically, around five years is when the accuracy of the model starts to get to a point where it’s not as good as we’d like. Therefore, we make a better forecast with five more years of information and update the forecast in the future,” he added.
In practical terms – that is, for people – little changes: “It should be possible to navigate as well as yesterday.”
E they don’t even notice: “We keep updates so it’s just a little bit of time, small enough that most people won’t notice, because for most users, accuracy is more than they need anyway.”
