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Alarming NOAA data, Rapid Pole Shiftlink
PermalinkThe NOAA National Geophysical Data Center maintains a data set of annual magnetic north pole coordinates going back to the year 1590, derived from early measurements from ships logs to modern day techniques.
Noting that there has been lots of reporting of pole shift lately, to the point where the phenomenon is actually causing real-world issues such as temporary airport closures, a deeper investigation was in order.
After transferring 420 years of north pole position data from the NOAA Geo Data Center, configuring it to fit in an Excel spreadsheet, adding a complicated formula to determine exact distance between 2 sets of latitude-longitude coordinates, applying the formula to each data point in the series, and then finally plotting it all in a visual graph, it is alarming to discover the amount of pole shift just over the past 10 to 20 years.
Here is one very interesting fact…
Since 1860, the magnetic pole shift has more than doubled every 50 years. That is pretty significant.
Here is another very interesting fact…
During the past 150 years, the pole shift has been in the same direction.
The following fact is even more astonishing…
During the past 10 years, the magnetic north pole has shifted nearly half of the total distance of the past 50 years! In other words, the pole shift has apparently sped up substantially.
Pole Shift has more than doubled each of the last 50 years
The present rate of magnetic north pole shift is about 55 kilometers per year. According to the data set, during the year 2000 the magnetic north pole actually shifted more than 70 kilometers.
The issue now is, since the pole shift has been at 400 year record high rates during the past 10 to 20 years, the cumulative affect is now beginning to cause real-world issues.
Will the effects affect us noticeably or in a bad way? Time will tell I suppose, but at the current rate there will no doubt be direct effects on many systems in the years ahead, many of them nuisance issues such as documentation changes while others will likely be more serious.
It is not known if the shift will speed up or slow down in the years ahead. Some say that a pole reversal is overdue, and this phenomenon may be indicators of the beginnings of that process.
Note that the earth’s magnetic field is what protects us from radiation. Without it, we would not survive. Could a pole reversal cause a period of time in-between flip-flop such that we would be exposed to deadly radiation? Stay tuned…
Graph of annual magnetic north pole shift during the past 420 years
At the current direction, the magnetic north pole is heading directly towards Russia. The following image shows the dramatic acceleration while pointing out the past 50 years versus the past 10 years of movement.
UPDATE: At 5:30PM PST, it appears SciAm finally realized they’d been had and pulled it.
Of course earlier today, the Guardian and other publications saw the problem and pulled this story:
AAAS withdraws “impossible” global warming paper
Hours later here’s the story still running on SciAm:
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=climate-change-crop-shortfall
h/t to WUWT reader “interglacial”.
This just goes to illustrate how one unchecked story, gets into the top science news publications, with apparently nobody questioning the claims.
Magnetic reversal may now be in progress - BGSlink
17 Jan 11 - According to the British Geological Survey (BGS), we could now be headed into a magnetic reversal, thus validating the premise of both Not by Fire but by Ice and Magnetic reversals and Evolutionary Leaps.
17 Jan 11 - According to the British Geological Survey (BGS), we could now be headed into a magnetic reversal, thus validating the premise of both Not by Fire but by Ice and Magnetic reversals and Evolutionary Leaps.
The South Atlantic Anomaly is growing and spreading westwards from South Africa as the Earth’s internal magnetic field rapidly weakens in this region, says this article on the BGS website. "This may be early evidence of a forthcoming reversal in the direction of the Earth’s internal magnetic field."
"We do not know in detail precisely what occurs during such reversals, including the changes observed in the magnetic field and the time a reversal takes to complete," the BGS adds.
Since so little is known, and in order to determine where radiation risks may be increased and how the atmosphere might respond, the BGS is opening a South Atlantic Anomaly and South Georgia Magnetic Observatory.
Since so little is known, and in order to determine where radiation risks may be increased and how the atmosphere might respond, the BGS is opening a South Atlantic Anomaly and South Georgia Magnetic Observatory.
By establishing the new observatory, BGS will re-start continuous magnetic observations in South Georgia, last carried out in 1982.
What is the South Atlantic Anomaly?
"The Earth’s magnetic field, generated deep within the planet, is a shield against particle radiation from space," the BGS article continues. "In the South Atlantic this shield is much weaker than elsewhere across the globe and radiation from space therefore penetrates deeper into the atmosphere. This region is known as the South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA) and the radiation in the SAA is a known hazard to satellites, spacecraft and high-altitude aircraft."
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by Shamus Cooke
You’d think the U.S. was already at war with China, given the immense amount of anti-China rhetoric spouting from the government and media. But selling wars takes time. The average American hasn’t bought in to this false advertising yet. So the big lie will be repeated until its roots are deeply sunk into the American psyche: China, says the U.S. government, is a threat that needs to be “dealt with.”
This propaganda assault is multi-faceted, taking aim from all directions. Any China-related issue — military, economic, and social — is open for attack. For example, the head of the U.S. Department of Defense, Robert Gates, recently visited Asia and focused much of his trip talking about China as a “military threat.”What is this threat? Gates answers that China has shown a “rapid buildup of military capability,” proven by its production of a “stealth fighter.” The U.S. media had a field day with this news, intending to sow terror in the psyche of the American public.
A quick glance at the numbers reveals that Mr. Gates and the unquestioning U.S. media are unabashed hypocrites: China is nowhere near the U.S. when it comes to military expenditures: the U.S., under Obama, will spend $725 billion in 2011(!), while China will spend $80 billion.
When it comes to overseas military bases, China has zero; the U.S. has at least 737!
While Gates was traveling throughout Asia on his Chinese provocation tour, Hillary Clinton joined the attack, targeting China’s human rights record in a lengthy, inflammatory speech, which included this slight:
“… when China lives up to its obligations of respecting and protecting universal human rights, it will not only benefit more than one billion people, it will also benefit the long-term peace, stability and prosperity of China.”
Yes, China is a violator of human rights, but in voicing her criticism Mrs. Clinton managed to raise the bar of hypocrisy to new heights.
Has Clinton forgotten that Guantanamo Bay remains open, filled with tortured people who are charged with no crimes? Has she forgotten that Bagram Air base in Afghanistan continues to deny the International Red Cross access to its “black site” detention center, since they would discover the torture chambers described by ex-detainees? Need we mention Bradley Manning, who remains in solitary confinement without any criminal charges, for allegedly informing the American public about U.S. war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan and all kinds of secret machinations?
But before Clinton’s speech became yesterday’s news, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner provided anti-China reinforcements, this time blasting China’s economy. The Washington Post reports:
“China’s unwillingness to allow its currency to rise in value is hampering U.S. competitiveness in the global marketplace and harming the Chinese economy, Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner said Wednesday… ” (January 12, 2011).
Once again, utter hypocrisy. No single government has caused more damage to the global economy than the United States, whose corporations sparked the global downturn by saturating the world with trillions of dollars in fraudulent housing mortgages sold as top-rated investments.
This policy was encouraged by the U.S. government, which gave the corporations cheap money with little oversight, a strategy that continues to this day with the Federal Reserve printing dollars non-stop that U.S. corporations are using to speculate on foreign currencies and drive the prices up of oil and other raw materials worldwide.
The above-mentioned Obama administration officials have no problem peddling their anti-China bias to the U.S. media, which stumble over themselves to provide assistance whenever possible. The New York Times recently published an editorial entitled, The Real Problem With China:
“For the United States, the No.1 problem with China’s economy is probably intellectual property theft.” (January 12, 2011).
In reality, the real problem that the U.S. government has with China is two-fold: China’s growth is pushing aside U.S. influence/power all over the world, which has negative influence on the profits of U.S. corporations, which are losing contracts to Chinese companies.
In response, the U.S. is provoking China in the media and militarily, encircling China by arming U.S. allies in the region, especially India, Japan and South Korea. Hillary Clinton responded to this allegation by denying it, while the Obama administration immediately contradicted her by its actions. The New York Times published an article addressing the issue while failing to connect the dots:
“The United States is not bent on containing China, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Friday, but the Obama administration is cultivating other allies across Asia to help it manage Beijing’s increasingly bold projection of military and economic power.” (January 12, 2011).
This policy of encirclement and provocation can easily lead to war. As Obama continues to tighten the noose while China struggles to squirm its neck free, the odds grow that military “incidents” may happen, especially as the U.S. throws additional military force in waters just off China’s coast in the South China Sea.
The Obama administration joins the right wing in trying to blame both the recession and the startling U.S. inequality in wealth on China. The real culprits are the corporate friendly politicians in the Democratic and Republican parties, which have both spent decades cutting taxes for the rich and corporations, while encouraging the wealthy to flee the U.S. and its living wage jobs for the third world, where slave wages equal larger profits.
The best way for working people to deal with this situation is to ignore the anti-China hype and focus their fire on the U.S. government and U.S. corporations. Demanding jobs from the government NOW that are paid for by taxing the rich is the best way to overcome the economic problems of the U.S. Working people cannot be distracted by fake overseas threats, whether they are alleged terrorists or foreign governments. The real threat continues to be closer to home.
Shamus Cooke is a social service worker, trade unionist, and writer for Workers Action. He can be reached at shamuscook@gmail.com
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/12/business/economy/12leonhardt.html?_r=1&hp
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/12/AR2011011201439.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/15/world/asia/15diplo.html?_r=1&hp
Heavy snow warnings issued for Shanghai China
January 20, 2011 (Bloomberg) — “China warned of heavy snow in Shanghai and surrounding regions today and tomorrow, and advised against unnecessary outdoor activity, the National Meteorological Center of China said. Ice and snow-removal operations delayed flights out of Shanghai’s Pudong and Hongqiao airports, the Shanghai Airport Authority said on its website today. Hangzhou, the capital of neighboring Zhejiang province, cancelled all departing flights from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m., according to a travel advisory from its airport. Residents should “cut down on unnecessary outdoor activity,” the national meteorological center said in its statement. “Government departments should monitor and keep roads and railways clear.” Blizzard warnings were given for the provinces of Jiangxi, Anhui and Zhejiang, the center said. -Bloomberg Business
Posted in Earth Watch, Extreme Weather Event Leave a comment
A hundred pelicans fall ill in Florida- 12 found dead
January 19, 2011 - MAYPORT, Fla. — “Bird experts in Jacksonville are trying to figure out what killed a dozen pelicans in Mayport and sickened more than 100 others. The recent deaths come just weeks after the mysterious deaths of thousands of birds falling from the sky in Arkansas. Cindy Moseling, who’s been caring for and rehabilitating birds at Bird Emergency Aid and Kare Sanctuary on Big Talbot Island for decades, said she has seen her feathered friends die for various reasons, but is especially concerned this time. ”The last few days, we’ve had quite a bit of birds dying,” Moseling said. She said she’s found the pelicans dead near the St. Johns River and seen at least 100 more that don’t look healthy. She said it’s because of something in the water. She and other bird experts don’t know exactly what’s wrong, but they do know something is wrong. Moseling said the deaths point to an unhealthy St. Johns River. “The birds are telling us something,” she said. “The birds are screaming as loud as they can, and no one’s listening.” While the cause of the deaths is still undetermined, Moseling and the workers at BEAKS said they’re doing everything they can to save the beautiful birds, but they need the community’s help.” -News4Jax
Posted in Environmental Threat 1 Comment
Flurry of tremors rock New Zealand
January 19, 2011 – “The aftershocks keep coming for Canterbury, with another 3.9 magnitude quake near Christchurch this afternoon following this morning’s 5.1 tremor. The quake hit at 12.26pm, 10 km south-west of the city at a depth of 5km, GNS Science reported. Another 3.9 magnitude quake also struck at 11.10am, 10km east of the city, at a depth of 5km, one of eight tremors recorded to have struck today. The swarm of aftershocks come in the wake of a 5.1 magnitude aftershock at 6.01am, 10km south-west of Christchurch, at a depth of 10km, GNS Science reported. It was widely felt across Canterbury.” -NZ Herald
Posted in 2012, Earth Changes, Volcano Watch Leave a comment
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