An Earth science specialist has unveiled a fascinating fact: our planet boasts not one, but two North Poles. One of these, the magnetic North Pole, is on the move, and this shift could quietly wreak havoc on global navigation systems.

Scott Brame from Clemson University explained that this magnetic drift influences the direction indicated by a compass. Without timely updates, navigation tools such as smartphone maps might provide inaccurate directions.

If the magnetic pole shifts more rapidly than anticipated and navigation models aren’t promptly revised, it could result in significant inaccuracies in GPS applications on phones or cars. This could lead to individuals getting lost, taking unnecessarily long routes, or facing safety hazards in isolated regions.

Brame, a research professor with a focus on geology and hydrogeology, has extensively studied the Earth’s subsurface water systems.

While the planet has a ‘true north’ located at the Earth’s rotational axis, Brame pointed out that there is also a ‘magnetic north,’ which has been gradually migrating across northern Canada for many years.

Since the 1990s, however, that movement has accelerated dramatically, increasing from roughly six to nine miles per year to about 34 miles per year, according to scientists. 

A 2020 study in the journal Nature Geoscience has explained that this acceleration was mainly caused by changes in the flow of molten iron in Earth’s outer core that alter the planet’s magnetic field, but the exact trigger is still unclear. 

So, when Santa is done delivering presents on Christmas Eve, he could use a compass, but then he has a challenge: He has to be able to find the right North Pole, since the one on a map and the one a compass relies on aren’t the same.

The magnetic North Pole has wandered since the late 1500s, picking up speed in the recent century

Earth’s magnetic North Pole has been in constant motion for centuries, but the speed accelerated dramatically in the 1990s (Stock Image)

The two North Poles

The geographic North Pole, also called true north, is the point at one end of the Earth’s axis of rotation.

Try taking a tennis ball in your right hand, putting your thumb on the bottom and your middle finger on the top, and rotating the ball with the fingers of your left hand. The place where the thumb and middle finger of your right hand contact the tennis ball as it spins define the axis of rotation. The axis extends from the south pole to the north pole as it passes through the center of the ball.

Earth’s magnetic North Pole is different.

Over 1,000 years ago, explorers began using compasses, typically made with a floating cork or piece of wood with a magnetized needle in it, to find their way. The Earth has a magnetic field that acts like a giant magnet, and the compass needle aligns with it.

The magnetic North Pole is used by devices such as smartphones for navigation – and that pole moves around over time.

Why the magnetic north pole moves around

The movement of the magnetic North Pole is the result of the Earth having an active core. The inner core, starting about 3,200 miles below your feet, is solid and under such immense pressure that it cannot melt. But the outer core is molten, consisting of melted iron and nickel.

Heat from the inner core makes the molten iron and nickel in the outer core move around, much like soup in a pot on a hot stove. The movement of the iron-rich liquid induces a magnetic field that covers the entire Earth.

As the molten iron in the outer core moves around, the magnetic North Pole wanders.

Although the world has a point that’s called ‘true north,’ which sits at the top of the Earth’s axis, the ‘magnetic North Pole’ continues to shift across Canada, moving at 34mph

Santa Claus is believed to live at the North Pole, but a researcher has revealed that there’s actually two North Poles on Earth (Stock Image)

For most of the past 600 years, the pole has been wandering around over northern Canada. It was moving relatively slowly, around six to nine miles per year, until around 1990, when its speed increased dramatically, up to 34 miles per year.

It started moving in the general direction of the geographic North Pole about a century ago. Earth scientists cannot say exactly why other than that it reflects a change in flow within the outer core.

Getting Santa home

So, if Santa’s home is the geographic North Pole – which, incidentally, is in the ice-covered middle of the Arctic Ocean – how does he correct his compass bearing if the two North Poles are in different locations?

No matter what device he might be using – compass or smartphone – both rely on magnetic north as a reference to determine the direction he needs to move.

While modern GPS systems can tell you precisely where you are as you make your way to grandma’s house, they cannot accurately tell which direction to go without your device knowing the direction of magnetic north. 

If Santa is using an old-fashioned compass, he’ll need to adjust it for the difference between true north and magnetic north. To do that, he needs to know the declination at his location – the angle between true north and magnetic north – and make the correction to his compass. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has an online calculator that can help.

If you are using a smartphone, your phone has a built-in magnetometer that does the work for you. It measures the Earth’s magnetic field at your location and then uses the World Magnetic Model to correct for precise navigation.

Whatever method Santa uses, he may be relying on magnetic north to find his way to your house and back home again. Or maybe the reindeer just know the way.

This article is adapted from The Conversation, a nonprofit news organization dedicated to sharing the knowledge of experts. It was written by Scott Brame, a research assistant professor of Earth Science at Clemson University.