Vestnik КRAUNC. Fiz.-Mat. Nauki. 2025. vol. 53. no. 4. P. 93 – 104. ISSN 2079-6641
PHYSICS
https://doi.org/10.26117/2079-6641-2025-53-4-93-104
Research Article
Full text in Russian
MSC 86A25
Estimation of the South Magnetic Pole Drift Velocity in the 20th–21st Centuries
N. N. Semakov¹², D. A. Ukolov^{\ast}¹³
¹Novosibirsk State University, 1 Pirogov St., Novosibirsk, 630090, Russia
²Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute, 38 Bering St., St. Petersburg, 199397, Russia
³Seismological Branch of the Unified Geophysical Service, Russian Academy of Sciences, 3 Akademika Koptyuga Ave., Novosibirsk, 630090, Russia
Abstract. This study presents an assessment of the speed and direction of the South Magnetic Pole movement during the 20th–21st centuries. The analysis is based on magnetic observations in Southern Hemisphere regions where the inclination angle exceeds 60°. Regional features of the calculated magnetic poles and general trends of their secular drift are identified. Within the framework of the 70th Russian Antarctic Expedition (2024–2025), over forty series of angular magnetic observations were carried out on sea ice and in coastal oases of Antarctica, allowing refinement of the pole’s movement parameters. The Earth’s magnetic field remains one of the least explored geophysical phenomena, with pole coordinate variations reflecting complex processes in the planet’s core and mantle. To improve understanding of longterm pole shifts, regular absolute angular measurements and the development of secular variation networks in poorly studied Antarctic regions are required.
Key words: South Magnetic Pole, geomagnetic field, secular variations, magnetic pole drift, local magnetic constant.
Received: 21.10.2025; Revised: 12.11.2025; Accepted: 24.11.2025; First online: 25.11.2025
For citation. Semakov N. N., Ukolov D. A. Estimation of the south magnetic pole drift velocity in the 20th–21st centuries. Vestnik KRAUNC. Fiz.-mat. nauki. 2025, 53: 4, 93-104. EDN: UCSOBF. https://doi.org/10.26117/2079-6641-2025-53-4-93-104.
Funding. The project was financially supported by the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute (AARI) and the Seismological Branch of the Unified Geophysical Service of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
Competing interests. There are no conflicts of interest regarding authorship and publication.
Contribution and Responsibility. All authors contributed to this article. Authors are solely responsible for providing the final version of the article in print. The final version of the manuscript was approved by all authors.
^{\ast}Correspondence: E-mail: d.ukolov@g.nsu.ru
The content is published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
© Semakov N. N., Ukolov D. A., 2025
© Institute of Cosmophysical Research and Radio Wave Propagation, 2025 (original layout, design, compilation)
References
- Parkinson U. Vvedenie v geomagnetizm, MIR, Moskva, 1986, 528 p. (In Russian)
- Newitt L. R., Niblett E. R. Relocation of the north magnetic dip pole, Can. J. Earth Sci., 1986, vol. 23, pp. 1062–1067.
- Newitt L. R., Barton C. E. The position of the North Magnetic Pole in 1994, J. Geomag. Geoelectr., 1996, vol. 48, pp. 221–232.
- Newitt L. R., Chulliat A., Orgeval J.-J. Location of the North Magnetic Pole in April 2007, Earth Planets Space, 2009, vol. 61, pp. 703–710.
- Bauer L. A. The local magnetic constant and its variations, Terr. Mag. (Washington), 1914, vol. 19, pp. 113–125.
- Kuznetsov V. V., Pavlova I. V., Semakov N. N. Estimation of the Position of Virtual Magnetic Poles, Geol. Geofiz., 1990, vol. 31, no. 2, pp. 115–116. (In Russian)
- Kuznetsov V. V., Pavlova I. V., Semakov N. N., Newitt L. R. Virtual magnetic poles, magnetic anomalies, and the location of the north magnetic pole, Russian Geology and Geophysics, 1997, vol. 38, no. 7, pp. 1312–1320.
- Maksimochkin V. I., Tselebrovskii A. N. Special Practicum: Main and Anomalous Components of the Earth’s Magnetic Field, Faculty of Physics, Moscow State University, Moscow, 2017. (In Russian)
- InterMagNet (International Real Magnetic Network), Register, 2025.
- Merkuryev S. A., Boyarskikh V. G., Demina I. M., Ivanov S.A., Soldatov V. A. Determination of the position of the South Magnetic Pole based on data from Russian round-the-world expeditions: 1820 (Bellingshausen) and 2020 (“Admiral Vladimirsky”). Part 1. Bellingshausen Expedition, Izvestiya, Physics of the Solid Earth, 2022, no. 3. (In Russian)
- Atkin A. The Quest for the Magnetic Pole: navigation and research into polar terrestrial magnetism, ANTA 502 Review.
- Gillin E. J. The instruments of expeditionary science and the reworking of nineteenthcentury magnetic experiment, DOI: 10.1098/rsnr.2022.0002.
- Glennmadil R. The search for the north magnetic pole, Arctic Institute, 1949.
- Weinberg B.P. Catalogue of magnetic determinations in U.S.S.R. and in adjacent countries from 1556 to 1926, Central Geophysical Observatory, Leningrad, 1929. (In Russian)
- Merrill R. T., McElhinny M. W., McFadden P. L. The Magnetic Field of the Earth: Paleomagnetism, the Core and the Deep Mantle, Academic Press, 1998, 531 p.
Information about the authors

Semakov Nikolay Nikolaevich – PhD in Geological and Mineralogical Sciences, Associate Professor, Department of Geophysics, Novosibirsk National Research State University, Novosibirsk, Russia. ORCID 0000-0003-4067-5603.

Ukolov Denis Alexandrovich – Master’s student and Engineer, Novosibirsk National Research State University, Novosibirsk; Research Engineer, Seismological Branch of the Unified Geophysical Service of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk, Russia. ORCID 0009-0000-1279-1274.

