(CNN) Unlike its geographical poles, Earth's magnetic poles that serve as the foundation of our navigation are actively moving.

The north magnetic pole has been slowly moving across the Canadian Arctic toward Russia since 1831 , but its swift pace toward Siberia in recent years at a rate of around 34 miles per year has forced scientists to update the World Magnetic Model -- used by civilian navigation systems, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and US and British militaries -- a year ahead of schedule.

The magnetic field reverses its polarity every several hundred thousand years, where the magnetic north pole resides at the geographic South Pole. The last reversal took place 770,000 years ago.

In a new study, researchers discovered that the last field reversal took 22,000 years to complete -- much longer than anticipated or expected, the researchers said.

Although some believe reversals could happen over the course of a human life, the findings don't support that theory.

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