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Polar Wandering?

July 14, 2008

The Earth’s magnetic field, which effectively extends several tens of thousands of kilometres into space, is called the magnetosphere. The magnetosphere shields the surface of the Earth from the charged particles of the solar wind. And we do need that. Two questions arise. Is our magnetic field weakening and has our magnetic filed changed positions or what is called pole wandering?

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If our magnetic field is weakening, especially in view of the suns’s eleven year cycle that will peak again in 2012, that’s not good news.

The majority of scientists contend the field is weakening, but by how much and what’s the significance? Today it is about 10% weaker than it was when German mathematician Carl Friedrich Gauss started keeping tabs on it in 1845, scientists say. If the trend continues, the field could collapse altogether and then reverse. Compasses would point south instead of north. God only knows such consequences though we have a few ideas.

But pole wandering is based on the idea that the outer shell of the earth (lithospehere) shifts from time to time and there are dozens of scenarios as to why and how.

Continental drift is based on the idea that the continents move individuallly; once gain, based on several conflicting theories. However, what does appear certain is that our North pole has a “wandering spirit”. Depending upon whom you want to agree with, the North pole has moved anywhere from dozens of times to 277 times in history (at least in the length of hsitory that we can trace).

Charles Hapgood, as an example, found evidence that the North Pole was located near Hudson Bay in the last glaciation in North America. For those that like charting the course of hurricanes, the pole placement would be at 60 degress latitude North and 83 degress longitude West. Over the last 18-20,000 years the pole drifted to the center of the Artic ocean where it currently is about 12,000 years ago or 10,000BCE.

Give or take a few centuries. :-)

Written by Ernie · Filed Under 2012 

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