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It sounds unlikely but it's true: the magnetic north pole is moving faster than at any time in human history, threatening everything from the safety of modern transport systems to the traditional navigation routes of migrating animals.

Scientists say that magnetic north, which for two centuries has been in the icy wilderness of Canada, is currently relocating towards Russia at a rate of about 40 miles a year. The speed of its movement has increased by a third in the past decade, prompting speculation that the field could be about to "flip", causing compasses to invert and point south rather than north, something that happens between three and seven times every million years.

Already the phenomenon is causing problems in the field of aviation. Tampa International airport in Florida has just spent a month renaming its three runways, which in common with those at most US airports are identified using numbers that correspond to the direction, in degrees, that they face on a compass. "Everything had to be changed; it was a huge project," Brenda Geoghagan, a spokeswoman for the airport, said.

The current rate of magnetic north's movement away from Canada's Ellesmere Island is throwing out compasses by roughly one degree every five years, prompting the US Federal Aviation Administration to re-evaluate runway names across the country every five years. Similar changes were recently made to runways at Fort Lauderdale and Palm Beach.

Geologists believe that magnetic north pole (which is different from the true North Pole, the axis on which the Earth spins) moves around due to changes in the planet's molten core, which contains liquid iron. They first located it in 1831, and have been attrying to follow its progress ever since.

Records indicate that the pole's location barely moved in the early decades, but in about 1904, it began tracking north-east at a rate of about nine miles a year. That speed increased significantly from about 1989, possibly because of a "plume" of magnetism deep below ground. The pole is now believed to be heading towards Siberia at about 37 miles each year. "Earth's magnetic field is changing in time. And as far as we know, it has always been changing in time," geophysicist Jeffrey Love of the US Geological Survey in Colorado told Discovery News, which investigated the issue last week.

GPS systems, which rely on satellites, have replaced compasses as the means by which the majority of professional navigators orientate themselves. But compasses are still valuable, and are widely used by hikers and other amateur map-readers. In some environments, such as underwater or beneath ground, which cannot be reached by satellite signals, they remain the only option. The oil industry, which uses magnets to determine which angle it should drill into the earth, needs to keep track of the exact location of magnetic north.

Birds that fly south for the winter, along with migratory sea creatures, could face confusion. Long-living animals, such as whales and turtles, may in future be required to recalibrate their navigational instincts.
Despite the cost and inconvenience of altering runway names, not to mention the indignity of losing magnetic north to Russia, inhabitants of North America stand to benefit from the changes in at least one respect: it will give them more opportunities to observe the aurora borealis.

No one can predict the impact of "polar reversal", during which magnetic north and south reverse, since one hasn't happened for 780,000 years, the longest stable period in the past 5 million years. Some geologists think we could be about to find out, though: they believe that the current changes to magnetic north could be the early stages of a "flip". But Mr Love says we shouldn't be too concerned. "Reversals typically take about 10,000 years to happen," he said. "And 10,000 years ago civilisation did not exist. These processes are slow, and therefore we don't have anything to worry about."

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Sea King Helicopter Force Wins National Award For Engineering Excellence

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The 2009/10 winner of the Rolls Royce Engineering Efficiency Trophy has been given to the Navy Command Sea King Helicopter Force based at Royal Naval Air Station Culdrose.

Unusually this year, the highly coveted Trophy has been awarded to the whole Force rather than to an individual unit, in acknowledgement of the exceptional combined engineering achievements of the Airborne Surveillance and Control (ASaC) and Search and Rescue (SAR) Squadrons.

The presentation ceremony took place in 771 Squadron’s newly modernised Hangar with Commodore Marsh (Assistant Chief of Staff, Logistics) and Ian Ritchey Senior Vice President – Engineering and technology (Rolls Royce) as principal guests. Apart from those operating on frontline duties in Afghanistan, the whole of the Sea King Force was present.

Some of the Royal Navy’s Sea King aircraft date from the 1970’s, but they are equipped with the most technically advanced radar and communications equipment available. With its high tempo of operations and training requirements, the Sea King Force places a heavy workload on its engineers requiring them to provide fully serviceable aircraft round the clock and across the globe.

The Sea King Force is made up of five Naval Air Squadrons. 857, 854 and 849 Squadrons provide the Airborne Surveillance and Control (ASaC) capability, while 771 and Gannet SAR Flight provide SAR cover in Cornwall and Scotland.

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Katie Price Wants Pink Helicopter

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Katie Price is planning to buy a pink helicopter and wants to have a helipad installed at her home.

Katie Price is planning to buy a pink helicopter. The British star is taking flying lessons and hopes to have a helipad installed at her home so she can fly off at a moment's notice.

Katie told The Sun newspaper: "I'm planning to get my own helicopter, a pink one, a proper Pricey one, just as soon as I pass my flying test. I'm going to have a helipad at my new house. People might think it's extravagant, but I'd like to see people following me in the air. "If people are bothering me, I'll just zoom over their heads."

Katie has long been a fan of choppers and she arrived with her new boyfriend, Argentinean model Leandro Penna, by helicopter last week when they attended the horse racing at Cheltenham in Gloucestershire, South West England.

The 32-year-old star also admitted she has to communicate with Leandro - who she met at Sir Elton John's Oscars party on February 28, shortly after announcing her split from cage fighter Alex Reid - by "winking", as she doesn't speak his native language.

She told the Daily Mirror newspaper: "I don't speak Spanish, and he doesn't speak much English, but we communicate in other ways. Even simple things like winking."

Katie - who has three children, Harvey, eight, Junior, five, and three-year-old Princess Tiaamii, from previous relationships - also boasted she has great career prospects in the US, and is planning to be spending much more time Stateside in the coming months. However, she is against a permanent move to the country.

She said: "I know people say you have to move to the States to break the States but I don't need to do that. It's already happening for me. So I don't need to move there."

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Someone please put her in touch with Lynn

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Katie has long been a fan of choppers

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Katie Price 'wants pink helicopter'

Katie Price has revealed that she plans to buy a pink helicopter so that she can maintain some privacy.

The glamour model, who recently split from her husband Alex Reid, explained that she has been taking flying lessons.

Price told The Sun: "I'm planning to get my own helicopter, a pink one, a proper Pricey one, just as soon as I pass my flying test. I'm going to have a helipad at my new house. People might think it's extravagant, but I'd like to see people following me in the air.

"If people are bothering me, I'll just zoom over their heads."

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