Magnetic north pole attracted by move to Russia

The magnetic north pole is about to wander out of Canadian territorial waters for the first time in at least 400 years. If it continues on its path it will become part of Russia within 50 years, scientists said yesterday.

A study by the Geological Survey of Canada has found that the magnetic north pole has started to move faster than it has done over the past century, said Larry Newitt, a member of the survey's geomagnetic sciences team based in Ottawa.

"It's definitely approaching the territorial boundaries of Canada and I fully expect it to move into international waters in four or five years' time," Dr Newitt said yesterday.

"If it continues in the same direction at the same speed it will hit Russian territory in about 50 years – but it's a big 'if'," he said.

Although the geographic north pole is a fixed point on Earth, its magnetic cousin moves around quite considerably, essentially because it is subject to the movements of the molten iron core within the bowels of the Earth.

For most of the 20th century, magnetic north has moved slowly north-west at a speed of about 10 kilometres a year but over the past decade or so it has accelerated to a speed of about 40km a year, Dr Newitt said. It is not unusual for the movements of magnetic north to speed up or slow down because such changes are an inherent feature of the Earth's magnetic field. It would, however, be the first time in recorded history it has moved out of Canadian territory altogether.

"Its position was first measured in 1831 but there is indirect evidence that it's been in Canada at least since the 1600s," Dr Newitt said.

For much of that time it moved south, deeper into Canadian territory, but by about the middle of the 19th century it swivelled around and began to wander north again.

The magnetic north pole has been a visitor attraction for many years, with parties of tourists taking scheduled flights from the small settlement of Resolute Bay in the far north of the Canadian Arctic to say they have stood on the north pole.

Losing it will be a blow to tourism, but otherwise there should be no wider repercussions if magnetic north leaves Canada altogether.

"Apart, that is, from a slight loss of Canadian pride. Although I have to say that most Canadians are probably not even aware that we have possessed it in the first place," Dr Newitt said.

Scientists measure the whereabouts of the magnetic north pole using an instrument called a magnetometer. When directly above magnetic north, the instrument's needle points directly down into the ground.