Magnetic north has never  sat still. In the last hundred years or so, the direction in which our  compasses steadfastly point has lumbered ever northward, driven by Earth 's churning liquid outer core some 1,800 miles beneath the surface. Yet in recent years, scientists noticed something  unusual: Magnetic north's routine plod has shifted into high gear,  sending it galloping across the Northern Hemisphere—and no one can  entirely explain why.

The changes have been so  large that scientists began working on an emergency update for the World  Magnetic Model, the mathematical system that lays the foundations for  navigation, from cell phones and ships to commercial airlines. But then  the U.S. government shut down, placing the model's official release on  hold, as Nature News first reported earlier this year.

Now, the wait for a new north is over. The World Magnetic Model update was officially released on Monday, and magnetic north can again be precisely located for people around the world.

Questions still likely  abound: Why is magnetic north changing so fast? What were the impacts of  the update's delay? Was there really a geologic reason Google maps sent  me off course? We've got you covered.

What is magnetic north?

Magnetic north is one of three “north poles” on our globe. First,  there's true north, which is the northern end of the axis on which our  planet turns.

But our planet's  protective magnetic bubble, or magnetosphere, isn't perfectly aligned  with this spin. Instead, the dynamo of Earth's core creates a magnetic  field that is slightly tilted from the planet's rotational axis. The  northern end of this planet-size bar magnet is what's known as  geomagnetic north—a point sitting off the northwest coast of Greenland that's changed position little over the last century.

Then there's magnetic  north, what your compass locates, which is defined as the point at which  magnetic field lines point vertically down. Unlike geomagnetic north,  this position is more susceptible to the surges and flows in the swirl  of liquid iron in the core. These currents tug on the magnetic field,  sending magnetic north hopping across the globe.

“The north magnetic pole is quite a sensitive place,” says Phil Livermore , a geophysicist at the University of Leeds.

What is the World Magnetic Model?

James Clark Ross first located magnetic north in 1831 in the scattered islands of Canada's Nunavut territory. Since  then, the pole has largely marched north, traversing hundreds of miles  over the last several decades. (Curiously, its polar opposite, magnetic  south, has moved little during this time.)

To keep up with all these changes, the U.S. National Oceanic and  Atmospheric Administration and the British Geological Survey developed  what eventually became known as the World Magnetic Model, “so they would  all be on the same map, essentially,” says Ciaran Beggan , a geophysicist with the BGS.

The model is updated every five years, with the last update in 2015.  Between each update, scientists check the model's accuracy against data  from ground magnetic observatories and the European Space Agency's Swarm mission —a  trio of magnetic-field mapping satellites that zip around Earth 15 to  16 times each day. Until now, this seemed sufficient to keep up with  magnetic north's march toward Siberia.

In the mid 1900s, the north magnetic pole was lumbering along at less  than a hundred feet each day, adding up to less than seven miles of  difference each year. But in the '90s, this started to change. By the  early aughts, magnetic north was chugging along at some 34 miles each year .

“Things are acting very strangely at high latitude,” says Livermore,  who notes that this increase seemed to coincide with a strengthening jet  in the planet's liquid outer core. Though the events could be linked,  it's not yet possible to say for sure.

By early 2018, scientists realized that the model would soon exceed  the acceptable limits for magnetic-based navigation. Something had to be  done before the model's next regular update, slated for 2020.

What caused all this weirdness?

Interest in these unexpected jolts is about more than mapping. The  dance of Earth's magnetic field lines presents one of the few windows  scientists have to processes that happen thousands of miles below your  feet.

At the 2018 American Geophysical Union fall meeting ,  Livermore presented what he calls a magnetic field “tug-of-war” that  may offer an explanation for the recent odd behavior. The north magnetic  pole seems to be controlled by two patches of magnetic field, he  explains, one under northern Canada and one under Siberia. Historically,  the one under northern Canada seems to have been stronger, keeping the  magnetic pole in its clutches. But recently, that seems to have changed.

“The Siberian patch looks like it's winning the battle,” he says.  “It's sort of pulling the magnetic field all the way across to its side  of the geographic pole.”

his  may be a result of a jet within the core smearing and thus weakening  the magnetic field under Canada, he says. The jet's increase in speed  seems to have coincided with the last few decades of the magnetic pole  zipping north. But he cautions about jumping to any definite  conclusions.

What's next for magnetic north?

It's tough to predict what will happen to the magnetic north pole—or  whether it's even going to maintain its speed as it staggers toward  Siberia, notes Robyn Fiori ,  a research scientist with Natural Resources Canada. The only thing that  seems certain about magnetic north is its unpredictability.

Rocks hold geologic maps of even weirder movements of the magnetic  poles, suggesting that in the last 20 million years, magnetic north and  south have flipped places multiple times. This seems to happen roughly  every 200,000 to 300,000 years. The exact causes behind these reversals remains uncertain. But the latest movement shouldn't have you in knots about an imminent flip.

“There's no indication that there's a reversal,” Beggan says. “And  even if there was a reversal, geological records show these things tend  to take a few thousand years, at the very least.” ( What really happens when the magnetic field flips? Here's what we know. )

Models of magnetic north suggest that this latest leap isn't even the strangest thing the pole  has done in more recent history, Fiori adds. Before 1900, its wanderings  likely once had a lot more wiggle and may include several hairpin turns  in northern Canada that could have sent the pole on a brief southward  stint.

“It all has to do with changes in the fluid motion of that outer  core,” she says. It's therefore hard to say if magnetic north's newfound  speed is the new normal.

“We know that the pole now is moving faster than it has for decades,  but how often does that happen in the long historical record?” inquires Geoff Reeves , a space scientist at Los Alamos National Lab.

“We don't have any idea. What we know is what it's doing now is different, and that's always exciting scientifically.”

Imaginary profile

by Bircan ÜNVER

The sanctions of life are hanging over my neck like the 'Sword of Damocles;' still, I have been drawn to another planet and river because of my instincts. The Light Millennium magazine project is also driven by my instincts which does not target any practical and profitable results; its noble aims are to create an intellectual environment and global positive energy for the future.

I have been a space scientist and video producer for 300 years. I travel between galaxies to discover planets which may have potential life. My team digitally records each new finding, and produces a series program from our discoveries… My video programs air on the Earth and on the other planets, including Artemis, Eros, Zeus, Neo-Hittite, and Neo-Egypt. I speak in a language called Cosmos which you do not yet know. It is a combination of Latin, Chinese, English, Russian, German, France and Turkish.

I find that mathematical and scientific terminology are much more rich, complex and improved than Earth’s. You may be excited to know that we are able to translate text written in any language (a novel, for example) from any period of time into Cosmos in a second.

I was born on a Neo-Earth planet but moved to the Artemis planet where I am very happy with my husband Quasar, who is from another universe. We have three children, two boys and a girl.

We travel to our neighboring planets by space-plane at the speed of light; this is accomplished by being converted into light, and then back again into human form; you have seen a version of this in several of your films and television programs.

We are partly free from the effects of gravity, and thus are partly free of your earthy sense of heaviness. When we take a trip to Earth with our children during the holidays we make use of Clarke's Space Elevator. Except for some weekends, holidays are the only times we get together with our children.

Actually we spend most of our time in the space plane for our mission with my husband. Our children are grown now. They are involved very much communication between inter galaxies and new ‘futuristic science’ at the college.

In our time the span of human life is over one thousand years, but our life's goal is much as yours is: how to improve our jobs, ourselves, our creativity, and our quality of life. This quality of life and our income depend upon how well we do our jobs, and how well we serve our planets.

©2000, Bircan Ünver, originally e-published on The Light Millennium – A Charitable Multi-Media and Culture Organization website – http://www.lightmillennium.org in January 2000 based in New York.