What does the Earth’s

magnetic field look like?

 The Earth’s magnetic field

• The field is mostly dipolar

(like a bar magnet) and
generated by convection in
the outer core.
 The Earth’s magnetic field

• The field is mostly dipolar (like a bar magnet) and

generated by convection in the outer core.
• The magnetic pole moves around but averages to
geographic pole over 1000s of years.
 Image credit: Dayna Mason

As well as a
horizontal
(north-pointing)
component of
the geomagnetic
field, there is a
variable
vertical
component.
 Describing the magnetic field

Vector field –
has magnitude
and direction.

•Declination = ‘trend’
•Inclination = ‘plunge’
(down = +ve, up= -ve)
 Kent: Latitude 41ºN

Inclination 68º

Hawaii: Latitude 21ºN

Inclination 35º

Vernadsky Base, Antarctica:

Latitude 65ºS

Inclination -57º
Because the Earth’s magnetic field is not completely dipolar,
declination and inclination do not just vary with latitude.
The field generated by the outer core can be modelled using
satellite and observatory data to produce a predicted
reference field for any location and time.
Magnetic sensors in smartphones
 Describing the magnetic field
B can be
resolved into
horizontal and
vertical
components.

BH =

Inclination =