A Magnetic "Hole" -- About Half The Size Of Europe Is Opening, In The Southwestern Atlantic Ocean, Off South America. ESA's Swarm Sat. Data Crucial -- In Monitoring It.

As you'll learn at the linked item, in addition to the "growing hole" depicted at right, with Earth's shifting magnetic north pole, toward Siberia -- the magnetic field strength over northern Canada is waning, and rising, over northern Siberia. These changes are eaily measurable here in just one decade's time. [My prior November 2022 coverage -- of this ESA multi-sat. mission is here.]

Scientists now debate the long term implications for us, but it is not seriously open to debate that the global climate. . . magnetically and meteorologically. . . is shifting. Here's the latest from ESA (with NASA still off-line due to Trump's stupidly cruel shutdown still ruling the day -- a full two weeks on):

. . .Swarm data underpins the global magnetic models used for navigation, monitor space weather hazards, and allow unprecedented insights into our Earth system from its core through to the outer reaches of Earth’s atmosphere. The latest Swarm results highlight the dynamic nature of Earth’s magnetism. For example, in the southern hemisphere there is one point where the magnetic field is particularly strong, and in the northern hemisphere there are two – one around Canada and the other around Siberia.

“When you're trying to understand Earth's magnetic field, it's important to remember that it’s not just a simple dipole, like a bar magnet. It’s only by having satellites like Swarm that we can fully map this structure and see it changing,” said Prof. Finlay.

However, since Swarm has been in orbit the magnetic field over Siberia has strengthened while it has weakened over Canada. The Canadian strong field region has shrunk by 0.65% of Earth’s surface area, which is almost the size of India, while the Siberian region has grown by 0.42% of Earth’s surface area, which is comparable to the size of Greenland. . . .

ESA’s Swarm Mission Manager, Anja Stromme, said, “It’s really wonderful to see the big picture of our dynamic Earth thanks to Swarm’s extended timeseries. The satellites are all healthy and providing excellent data, so we can hopefully extend that record beyond 2030, when the solar minimum will allow more unprecedented insights into our planet. . . .”

Now you know. Onward to meetings about funding our public schools here -- as Tangerine 2.0 cuts take hold.

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