Thread: North pole closes runways in Tampa?

North pole closes runways in Tampa?

By TED JACKOVICS | The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 6, 2011

TAMPA - Scientists say the magnetic north pole is moving toward Russia, and the fallout has reached — of all places — Tampa International Airport.

The airport has closed its primary runway until Jan. 13 to repaint the numeric designators at each end and change taxiway signs to account for the shift in location of the Earth's magnetic north.

The closure of the west parallel runway will result in more activity on the east parallel runway and more noise for residents of parts of South Tampa.

The busiest runway will be re-designated 19R/1L on aviation charts.

It's been 18R/36L, indicating its alignment along the 180-degree approach from the north and the 360-degree approach from the south.

Later this month, the airport's east parallel runway and the seldom used east-west runway will be closed to change signs to their new designations.

The Federal Aviation Administration required the runway designation change to account for what a National Geographic News report described as a gradual shift of the Earth's magnetic pole at nearly 40 miles a year toward Russia because of magnetic changes in the planet's core.

http://www2.tbo.com/content/2011/jan/06 ... -in-tampa/

National Geographic News report described as a gradual shift of the Earth's magnetic pole at nearly 40 miles a year toward Russia because of magnetic changes in the planet's core.

I wonder if this would make some of the ice caps start to melt at the North Pole, I am not very scientific....

These articles that leave out the most obvious and needed information are driving me up a wall!

Ok, I try to be a well educated and well read person but Ive never heard of the magnetic poll moving 40 miles per year.

Is this normal and how long has this been going on???

W

the movement has accelerated 'lately'

Scientists have long known that the magnetic pole moves. James Ross located the pole for the first time in 1831 after an exhausting arctic journey during which his ship got stuck in the ice for four years. No one returned until the next century. In 1904, Roald Amundsen found the pole again and discovered that it had moved--at least 50 km since the days of Ross.

The pole kept going during the 20th century, north at an average speed of 10 km per year, lately accelerating "to 40 km per year," says Newitt. At this rate it will exit North America and reach Siberia in a few decades.

http://www.nasa.gov/vision/earth/lookin ... field.html

I thought it was interesting and I had not heard it mentioned before.