The Westward Drift of the Earth's Magnetic Field

Details The Westward Drift of the Earth's Magnetic Field The Westward Drift of the Earth's Magnetic Field

Oct 1950

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1950rspta.243...67b&link_type=abstract

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series A. Mathematical and Physical Sciences, Volume 243, Issue 859,

Physics

100

Scientific paper

The westward drift of the non-dipole part of the earth's magnetic field and of its secular variation is investigated for the period 1907-45 and the uncertainty of the results discussed. It is found that a real drift exists having an angular velocity which is independent of latitude. For the non-dipole field the rate of drift is 0.18± 0.015 o /year, that for the secular variation is 0.32± 0.067 o /year. The results are confirmed by a study of harmonic analyses made between 1829 and 1945. The drift is explained as a consequence of the dynamo theory of the origin of the earth's field. This theory required the outer part of the core to rotate less rapidly than the inner part. As a result of electromagnetic forces the solid mantle of the earth is coupled to the core as a whole, and the outer part of the core therefore travels westward relative to the mantle, carrying the minor features of the field with it.

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