Common Earth

Show Only ...
Maps - Photos - Videos

Earth’s Magnetic North Pole Continues Drifting, Crosses Prime Meridian

|

Earth’s Magnetic North Pole Continues Drifting, Crosses Prime Meridian

The magnetic north pole is the point on the Earth that compasses designate as true north. It is the result of geological processes deep within the planet—molten iron flow creates a magnetic field with poles near the geographic North and South Poles. But unlike the geographic poles, the magnetic poles can move—and the magnetic north pole has been moving faster in recent years, which made necessary the early update of the WMM.

The WMM is a model maintained jointly by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the British Geological Survey—its purpose is to show what Earth's magnetic field looks like, most particularly, where the locations of the magnetic poles lie.

Images of America in Crisis in the 1970s — In Focus — The Atlantic

|

DOCUMERICA: Images of America in Crisis in the 1970s — In Focus — The Atlantic

As the 1960s came to an end, the rapid development of the American postwar decades began to take a noticeable toll on the environment, and the public called for action. In November 1971, the newly created Environmental Protection Agency announced a massive photo documentary project, called DOCUMERICA, to record the adverse effects of modern life on the environment. More than 100 photographers were hired not only to document specific issues, but to capture images showing how we interacted with the environment. By 1974, more than 80,000 photographs had been produced. The National Archives recently made 15,000 of these images available, and I've spent much of the past week combing through those to bring you these 46 glimpses of America in the early 1970s, with an eye toward our then-ailing environmen