Geomagnetic pole

As a first-order approximation, the Earth's magnetic field can be modeled as a simple dipole (like a bar magnet), tilted about 9.6° with respect to the Earth's rotation axis (which defines the Geographic North and Geographic South Poles) and centered at the Earth's center. The North and South Geomagnetic Poles are the antipodal points where the axis of this theoretical dipole intersects the Earth's surface. Thus, unlike the actual magnetic poles, the geomagnetic poles always have an equal degree of latitude and supplementary degrees of longitude respectively (2017: Lat. 80.5°N, 80.5°S; Long. 72.8°W, 107.2°E). If the Earth's magnetic field were a perfect dipole, the field lines would be vertical to the surface at the Geomagnetic Poles, and they would align with the North and South magnetic poles, with the North Magnetic Pole at the south end of dipole. However, the approximation is imperfect, and so the Magnetic and Geomagnetic Poles lie some distance apart. ==Location==

Like the North Magnetic Pole, the North Geomagnetic Pole attracts the north pole of a bar magnet and so is in a physical sense actually a magnetic south pole. It is the center of the 'open' magnetic field lines which connect to the interplanetary magnetic field and provide a direct route for the solar wind to reach the ionosphere. , it was located at , on Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, Canada, compared to 2015, when it was located at , also on Ellesmere Island. or the U.S. World Magnetic Model (only covering a five-year period). ==Movement==

The geomagnetic poles move over time because the geomagnetic field is produced by motion of the molten iron alloys in the Earth's outer core. (See geodynamo.) Over the past 150 years, the poles have moved westward at a rate of 0.05° to 0.1° per year and closer to the true poles at 0.01° per year. ==Geomagnetic reversal==

Over the life of the Earth, the orientation of Earth's magnetic field has reversed many times, with geomagnetic north becoming geomagnetic south and vice versa – an event known as a geomagnetic reversal. Evidence of geomagnetic reversals can be seen at mid-ocean ridges where tectonic plates move apart. As magma seeps out of the mantle and solidifies to become new ocean floor, the magnetic minerals in it are magnetized in the direction of the magnetic field. The study of this remanence is called palaeomagnetism. Thus, starting at the most recently formed ocean floor, one can read out the direction of the magnetic field in previous times as one moves farther away to older ocean floor. ==See also==