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Australian Broadcasting Corp reports:
From 1982 to 2005, we measured the location of the North Pole as drifting slowly southwards towards Labrador around six to seven centimetres each year.
But in 2005, the North Pole suddenly, and without any warning, did two new things. First, it chucked a leftie and started heading east, parallel to the Equator. Second, the North Pole more than tripled its speed to about 24-or-so centimetres per year.
Plain and simple, rapid melting of ice on land has driven Earth's North Pole to the east. This solid ice used to be on land, but is now liquid water spread everywhere across the planet.
We've been measuring this change to the land ice with satellites beginning in the early 1990s, right up to our current CryoSat-2, which was launched in 2010. Over the decades, the satellites have taken many tens of millions of height measurements. The most recent analysis tells us that between 2011 and 2014, Greenland and Antarctica between them were losing about 500 billion tonnes of land ice per year — about three-quarters of it from Greenland. This was an increase of two-to-three times over the previous loss rate as measured between 2003 and 2009.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Gravis on Sunday July 19 2015, @02:48PM
what has fucked us is people who deny climate change and those who refuse change due to it because that is exactly how we got in this mess.
(Score: 1, Offtopic) by Runaway1956 on Sunday July 19 2015, @03:19PM
Wrll, Gravis, I've not said anything here about whether I believe in man-made global warming. I am stating, however, that the temperature of the planet's surface probably has zero influence over the magnetic properties of the earth's iron core.
We DO all understand that the earth's core is molten iron, do we not? Let us suppose, just for the sake of argument, that this global warming thing has penetrated all the way to the core of the planet. Does ANYONE really think that changing the temperature of that core by a degree or ten is going to change it's magnetic properties? Really? Anyone? Can anyone reference any studies in which a minor temperature change has affected the properties of magnetism? We're not talking about hundreds of degrees here, or thousands. One to ten degrees difference is all we're looking for.
Let em state bluntly - anyone who has even the slightest bit of education in the physical sciences who believes this nonsense has his head so far up his ass that his shoulders are chafing against his pelvis. There's no hope for some people, they apparently LIKE the atmosphere found inside of an anus!
Some real facts, which are easily verifiable via Google search:
The earth's magnetic north pole has shifted, almost continuously since mankind discovered magnetism. Magnetic north doesn't even stay constant from one place to another on the earth. Sailors have charts that display the variations in magnetic north, it's so well established that "north" is not always really north. The shift in the magnetic poles is NOT entirely constant and predictable - never has been, never will me. At least it won't be predicatable until the earth has cooled sufficiently to allow the iron to harden into a solid.
http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/geomag/declination.shtml [noaa.gov]
So, some dimwit or another has "discovered" that the normal movement of magnetic north doesn't match his predictions. I have to wonder whether he even knows about magnetic variation. I have to wonder how sensitive his instruments are. I have to wonder how ACCURATE his instruments are. I have to woder about his competence to use these instruments. I have to wonder about his freaking INTELLIGENCE!
Bottom line: If global warming were ten times as bad as the gloomiest predicitons, it still wouldn't affect the earth's magnetic north pole, or influence it's travels.
"But in 2005, the North Pole suddenly, and without any warning, did two new things. First, it chucked a leftie and started heading east,"
Chucked a leftie? WTF? Maybe the magnetic pole UPCHUCKED after swallowing a leftie.
(Score: 5, Informative) by BK on Sunday July 19 2015, @03:39PM
Just to point out, this is about the physical rotational axis, not magnetic north.
I love that they point out that the axis had been shifting southwards before. It seems to me that any such shift is always southwards. Duh. It was shifting south and is now shifting south. But it's still north.
Wherever you go, there you are.
...but you HAVE heard of me.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Sunday July 19 2015, @04:07PM
LOL, I hadn't thought of that. At some point in my history, I've established the difference between true north and magnetic north. Ever since then, I've automatically pictured the movement of magnetic north in relation to true north. So - I went along with the idea that magnetic north was now moving eastwards. Thanks for the kick in the butt - now I can see that the North Pole is actually moving southwards, just as it always has done!
(Score: 2, Informative) by TheSuperFriend on Sunday July 19 2015, @05:18PM
Okay, so the more accurate way to report the story would be to refer to the change in the axial tilt.
Although "north" is always "north", I can promise you that if either pole was pointed at the sun you'd notice an increase in your heating/cooling expenses.
(Score: 2) by darkfeline on Sunday July 19 2015, @10:05PM
"True north" is north on a map. That doesn't change. Axial north and magnetic north change all the time, but they have traditionally been very close to true north, although all that drift is adding up.
Join the SDF Public Access UNIX System today!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 19 2015, @08:50PM
Says the guy with 6 kids.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 20 2015, @01:54PM
what has fucked us up is retard progressives that want other people to pay for their unsubstantiated scams, whilst being the hypocrites that they are by using their technology that causes more global warming than 90% of the rest of earth's population
it's fine to believe in a cause, but realize that even though you may think its important, others aren't convinced and they are entitled to their own views. if you want to change the world, pay for it yourself. don't be the filthy bullying scabs that you are by trying to force taxpayers to bankroll your own feelgood campaigns
you're welcome to make a convincing argument, but marginalizing those who disagree with you merely because they disagree is fucking stupid. get over yourself