Submitted by Anonymous on Mon, 12/20/2010 - 12:20
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Oden Antarctic Expedition 2010

My name is Scott Engelman. I am a colleague of Anne Marie Wotkyns. I have a question about compasses in the Antarctic. Since compasses work by the magnetic pull of the polar north, how do they work in Antarctica? Does the metallic core of the planet effect how a compass works in the southern polar regions?

Tue, 12/21/2010 - 06:17

Anonymous

This is Steve Ackley, the PI on Anne Marie's project. Compasses work the same way, only will point toward the South Magnetic Pole as the earth works just like a bar magnet with magnetic field lines extending from pole to pole. As with the North, the Magnetic Pole is offset from the Geographic pole, and wanders somewhat with time. Its been a few years, but the last time I checked it was off off the coast of East Antarctica. When you are in the Polar regions you have to take into account that there is a significant angle between the Geographic pole and the Magnetic Pole, (i.e. where Anne Marie is now, South Magnetic probably points almost due West, rather than "South").