Polar drift is a geological phenomenon caused by variations in the flow of molten

iron Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in ...

in Earth's outer core, resulting in changes in the orientation of

Earth's magnetic field Earth's magnetic field, also known as the geomagnetic field, is the magnetic field that extends from Earth's interior out into space, where it interacts with the solar wind, a stream of charged particles emanating from the Sun. The magneti ...

, and hence the position of the magnetic

north North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north ...

- and

south pole The South Pole, also known as the Geographic South Pole, Terrestrial South Pole or 90th Parallel South, is one of the two points where Earth's axis of rotation intersects its surface. It is the southernmost point on Earth and lies antipod ...

s. The

North Magnetic Pole The north magnetic pole, also known as the magnetic north pole, is a point on the surface of Earth's Northern Hemisphere at which the planet's magnetic field points vertically downward (in other words, if a magnetic compass needle is allowed t ...

is approximately from the geographic

north pole The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distinguish from the Ma ...

. The pole drifts considerably each day, and since 2007 it moves about per year as a result of this phenomenon. The South Magnetic Pole is constantly shifting due to changes in the Earth's magnetic field. it was calculated to lie at , placing it off the coast of Antarctica, between

Adelie Land Adelie or Adélie may refer to: * Adélie Land, a claimed territory on the continent of Antarctica * Adelie Land meteorite, a meteorite discovered on December 5, 1912, in Antarctica by Francis Howard Bickerton * Adélie penguin The Adélie peng ...

and

Wilkes Land Wilkes Land is a large district of land in eastern Antarctica, formally claimed by Australia as part of the Australian Antarctic Territory, though the validity of this claim has been placed for the period of the operation of the Antarctic Treaty ...

. In 2015, it lay at (est).British Geological Survey – Magnetic Poles
/ref> That point lies outside the

Antarctic Circle The Antarctic Circle is the most southerly of the five major circles of latitude that mark maps of Earth. The region south of this circle is known as the Antarctic, and the zone immediately to the north is called the Southern Temperate Zone. So ...

and it is moving northwest by about per year. Its current distance from the actual Geographic South Pole is approximately . The nearest permanent science station is

Dumont d'Urville Station The Dumont d'Urville Station (french: Base antarctique Dumont-d'Urville) is a French scientific station in Antarctica on Île des Pétrels, archipelago of Pointe-Géologie in Adélie Land. It is named after explorer Jules Dumont d'Urville, whos ...

. Wilkes Land contains a large gravitational mass concentration. ; North Magnetic Pole : 1900: : 1905: : 1910: : 1915: : 1920: : 1925: : 1930: : 1935: : 1940: : 1945: : 1950: : 1955: : 1960: : 1965: : 1970: : 1975: : 1980: : 1985: : 1990: : 1995: : 2000: : 2005: : 2010: : 2011: : 2012: : 2013: : 2014: : 2015: : 2016: : 2017: : 2018: : 2019: : 2020: ; South Magnetic Pole : 1998: : 2004: (estimated) : 2007: : 2015:

References

External links

A map of polar drift over the past 200 years
Polar regions of the Earth Geomagnetism {{geophysics-stub

See also

References

External links