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Old 01-22-2011, 03:09 PM
 
Location: Mt. Pleasant - Charleston, SC
167 posts, read 314,296 times
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So if the 2012 pole shift does occur (and that's a big IF), what will be the direct result to us on this planet? It is my understanding that compasses will be out of whack but will the planet itself begin to change orientation? I guess I am a little clueless on this and have only begun to investigate this.

I think animals that use magnetic fields and such for migration, breeding, etc. would be more affected than us, but I wonder what other things could affect us like change in weather, tides, etc.
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Old 01-22-2011, 04:00 PM
 
Location: Sarasota, Florida
15,395 posts, read 22,437,074 times
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Here Ya GO>>>>>>> I think this is what you are referring to; but I've read nothing about an imminent magnetic pole reversal>>>>>
http://www.city-data.com/forum/scien...ng-before.html

Last edited by PITTSTON2SARASOTA; 01-22-2011 at 04:20 PM..
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Old 01-22-2011, 05:30 PM
 
10,923 posts, read 21,871,783 times
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I didn't know 2012 had anything to do with a pole shift?
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Old 01-22-2011, 05:37 PM
 
Location: Texas
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CrusherCountry View Post
So if the 2012 pole shift does occur (and that's a big IF), what will be the direct result to us on this planet? It is my understanding that compasses will be out of whack but will the planet itself begin to change orientation? I guess I am a little clueless on this and have only begun to investigate this.

I think animals that use magnetic fields and such for migration, breeding, etc. would be more affected than us, but I wonder what other things could affect us like change in weather, tides, etc.
I recently read an article saying an airport in Florida had to close temporarily so the could make some adjustments due to a three degree shift in the magnetic field. I guess with long fights, it can make a difference.
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Old 01-22-2011, 05:49 PM
 
Location: Central Ohio
10,802 posts, read 14,860,275 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Brian.Pearson View Post
I recently read an article saying an airport in Florida had to close temporarily so the could make some adjustments due to a three degree shift in the magnetic field. I guess with long fights, it can make a difference.
The magnetic north pole is not the north pole at all. I don't know where it is now (all the flying I do uses gps) but when I started in the early 70's the magnetic north pole was actually in the middle of the Hudson Bay. The magnetic north pole is always moving.

Magnetic declination - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Airport runways are numbered to the nearest 10 degrees. Runway 24 indicates the runway is running 240 degrees (magnetic) so you can use your magnetic company to line up on the proper runway.

Runway - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Quote:
Runway designations change over time because the magnetic poles slowly drift on the Earth's surface and the magnetic bearing will change. Depending on the airport location and how much drift takes place, it may be necessary over time to change the runway designation. As runways are designated with headings rounded to the nearest 10 degrees, this will affect some runways more than others. For example, if the magnetic heading of a runway is 233 degrees, it would be designated Runway 23. If the magnetic heading changed downwards by 5 degrees to 228, the Runway would still be Runway 23. If on the other hand the original magnetic heading was 226 (Runway 23), and the heading decreased by only 2 degrees to 224, the runway should become Runway 22
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Old 01-22-2011, 06:42 PM
 
Location: Texas
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Here's an article about the Florida incident:

Florida’s Tampa International airport closed its primary runway on Thursday after a shift in earth’s northern magnetic pole made it impossible for planes to taxi within accurate coordinates without effecting realignments in the runway.

The primary runway will remain closed until January 13, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). “The Earth’s poles are changing constantly, and when they change more than three degrees, that can affect runway numbering,” Fox News quoted FAA spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen as saying. Information on the movement of earth’s magnetic fields is vital for planes’ proper navigation on the runways. Runway designations and charting rely on geomagnetic information and that “aviation is charted using latitude and longitude and the magnetic poles”, explained Bergen.


BTW, it seems to me more people would use GSP.
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Old 01-22-2011, 07:11 PM
 
Location: Sarasota, Florida
15,395 posts, read 22,437,074 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Brian.Pearson View Post
Here's an article about the Florida incident:

Florida’s Tampa International airport closed its primary runway on Thursday after a shift in earth’s northern magnetic pole made it impossible for planes to taxi within accurate coordinates without effecting realignments in the runway.

The primary runway will remain closed until January 13, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). “The Earth’s poles are changing constantly, and when they change more than three degrees, that can affect runway numbering,” Fox News quoted FAA spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen as saying. Information on the movement of earth’s magnetic fields is vital for planes’ proper navigation on the runways. Runway designations and charting rely on geomagnetic information and that “aviation is charted using latitude and longitude and the magnetic poles”, explained Bergen.


BTW, it seems to me more people would use GSP.
I think the OP means a complete pole reversal and not a few degrees of pole wandering.....though I may have misinterpreted his meaning?
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Old 01-22-2011, 07:43 PM
 
Location: North of Canada, but not the Arctic
20,877 posts, read 19,336,057 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Brian.Pearson View Post
Here's an article about the Florida incident:

Florida’s Tampa International airport closed its primary runway on Thursday after a shift in earth’s northern magnetic pole made it impossible for planes to taxi within accurate coordinates without effecting realignments in the runway. Not true. The runways are numbered for easier orientation of the pilots. Taxiways are not numbered; they are lettered (although letters and numbers are also used in combination, but the numbers do not refer to direction.) Planes could taxi around on an airport even if the magnetic pole were swinging around like crazy.

The primary runway will remain closed until January 13, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). “The Earth’s poles are changing constantly, and when they change more than three degrees, that can affect runway numbering,” Fox News quoted FAA spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen as saying. Information on the movement of earth’s magnetic fields is vital for planes’ proper navigation on the runways. Runway designations and charting rely on geomagnetic information and that “aviation is charted using latitude and longitude and the magnetic poles”, explained Bergen.


BTW, it seems to me more people would use GSP. Most modern planes do use GPS for enroute navigation, but at most airports a ground based navigation system is used to align planes with the runway.
The numbers painted on the runway are for pilot orientation so that if they are flying by visual reference, they can line up with the runway in reference to magnetic north. In poor weather (and as backup in good weather) precisely calibrated ground based navigation aids help align the plane on the approach. These calibrations change degree-by-degree as the magnetic poles shift.

By the way, all runways are renumbered over time. It may take many years depending on how fast the magnetic poles move and where the airport is situated in regards to them.
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Old 01-22-2011, 07:58 PM
 
Location: North of Canada, but not the Arctic
20,877 posts, read 19,336,057 times
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Now to answer CrusherCountry: Yes compasses would be out of whack (even more than they already are, as the north magnetic pole and the north geographic pole are not currently coincident). The planet may or may not change orientation. It would depend on the shift in weight of the molten ferrous mass in our earth's interior. The actual magnetic field itself would not cause a change in orientation.

I'm not too familiar with how animals use the magnetic field for migration, but I'd imagine as long as the magnetic field changes over many generations, animals would be able to adapt (Instead of flying due north magnetically, they could fly at some angle relative to due north.) Weather would be unaffected, but the magnetic shield that protects us from solar radiation would be off kilter (the Northern Lights would be repositioned and radiation reaching the surface of earth would be affected). The tides would be unaffected unless there is a weight shift or unless that weight shift changes the precession angle of the earths axis. Tides are formed by the pull of gravity of the moon, so any change in the orientation of the earth relative to the moon would change the tides.

And 2012 has nothing to do with the magnetic poles shifting. (Unless the ancient Mayans knew something that modern scientists don't.)
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Old 01-22-2011, 08:07 PM
 
Location: Denver
1,788 posts, read 2,466,913 times
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meh...I got a bad feeling about a pole shift. If it happens in 2012, I'll reckon the Mayans nailed it.
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