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Question:
According to Trinklein in somewhere around Akron, Ohio the magnetic declination is 0 . Also according to Trinklein the magnetic north pole is at 100 longitude (& 73 latitude) which, according to my globe makes Topeka, Kansas the point with 0 declination, not Akron... Any insights? Thanks


Replies:
The earth's magnetic field is not a perfect dipole... far from it, in fact: there are many deviations due to localized concentrations of ferro-magnetic ores in the earth's crust, for example.

John Hawley

Earth's magnetic field is constantly changing, both in space (geographically) and in time. The current (2003) declination for Akron, OH is about 8 degrees west of north (based on the International Geomagnetic Reference Field, 2000 http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/). Because the field is constantly changing, the "0 degree line" and the location of the north and south geomagnetic poles also change. Currently, the 0 declination line runs roughly from New Orleans through Duluth, MN up through Churchill in Canada. The current approximate location of the north and south magnetic poles (surveyed) are 78.5 N, 103.4 W near Ellef Ringnes Island and 65 S, 139 E in Commonwealth Bay.

Susan McLean, National Geophysical Data Center, Geomagnetism Group


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