sasto
Captain
- Joined
- Jun 1, 2010
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This may apply to some but may also be interesting to others. I'm blaming getting lost on my compass..
Magnetic north, the point at the top of the Earth that determines compass headings, is shifting its position at a rate of about 40 miles per year. In geologic terms, it's racing from the Arctic Ocean near Canada toward Russia.
As a result, everyone who uses a compass, even as a backup to modern GPS navigation systems, needs to be aware of the shift, make adjustments or obtain updated charts to ensure they get where they intend to go, authorities say. That includes pilots, boaters and even hikers.
"You could end up a few miles off or a couple hundred miles off, depending how far you're going," said Matthew Brock, a technician with Lauderdale Speedometer and Compass, a Fort Lauderdale company that repairs compasses.
Although the magnetic shift has little impact on the average person and presents no danger to the Earth overall, it is costing the aviation and marine industries millions of dollars to upgrade navigational systems and charts.
Because GPS navigation draws on satellites, it has no reliance on magnetic north. On the other hand, satellites and GPS systems can malfunction. For that reason, Tom Cartier recommends all pilots and boaters keep a compass handy as backup.
"The magnetic compass is what gets you home in your boat or plane when everything else quits," said Cartier, a senior deck instructor at Maritime Professional Training in Fort Lauderdale. "It's a very, very valuable piece of equipment."
Cartier said large ships and planes have sophisticated electronic navigation systems, but the vast majority of small boats and planes have magnetic compasses and rely on them heavily.
"They don't have the money to spend for a sophisticated system," he said.
He added that boaters should always bring updated maps, showing the latest corrections for the magnetic north shift, even if they have GPS
Magnetic north, the point at the top of the Earth that determines compass headings, is shifting its position at a rate of about 40 miles per year. In geologic terms, it's racing from the Arctic Ocean near Canada toward Russia.
As a result, everyone who uses a compass, even as a backup to modern GPS navigation systems, needs to be aware of the shift, make adjustments or obtain updated charts to ensure they get where they intend to go, authorities say. That includes pilots, boaters and even hikers.
"You could end up a few miles off or a couple hundred miles off, depending how far you're going," said Matthew Brock, a technician with Lauderdale Speedometer and Compass, a Fort Lauderdale company that repairs compasses.
Although the magnetic shift has little impact on the average person and presents no danger to the Earth overall, it is costing the aviation and marine industries millions of dollars to upgrade navigational systems and charts.
Because GPS navigation draws on satellites, it has no reliance on magnetic north. On the other hand, satellites and GPS systems can malfunction. For that reason, Tom Cartier recommends all pilots and boaters keep a compass handy as backup.
"The magnetic compass is what gets you home in your boat or plane when everything else quits," said Cartier, a senior deck instructor at Maritime Professional Training in Fort Lauderdale. "It's a very, very valuable piece of equipment."
Cartier said large ships and planes have sophisticated electronic navigation systems, but the vast majority of small boats and planes have magnetic compasses and rely on them heavily.
"They don't have the money to spend for a sophisticated system," he said.
He added that boaters should always bring updated maps, showing the latest corrections for the magnetic north shift, even if they have GPS
