The Position of the North Magnetic Dip Pole in 1994.

Abstract

In the spring of 1994, a survey was carried out to redetermine the position of the North Magnetic Pole (NMP). Observations of declination, inclination, and total intensity were made at eight sites around the expected location of the pole. All observations were corrected for transient variations using data from a variometer set up in the survey area, and data from magnetic observatories at Mould Bay and Resolute Bay. The NMP position was determined by performing a spherical cap harmonic analysis of the corrected data. The computed position of 78.3°N, 104.0°W for 1994.0 was 150 km northwest of the position previously determined in 1984, and showed that the NMP was moving more rapidly than anticipated. The motion of the NMP has changed from a uniform drift of about 9 km/yr, prior to mid-1971, to a uniform acceleration of approximately 0.34 km/yr2, after mid-1971. This change may be related to the widely-reported geomagnetic jerk that occurred in 1969/70.