Deadly earthquakes could hit a billion people next year because of Earth's slowing rotation

www.dailymail.co.uk/ ^ | Nov 20, 2017 | By Phoebe Weston For Mailonline

[11th_VA]

- Slight fluctuations will release mammoth amounts of underground energy

- Next year we could have at least 20 serious earthquakes, scientists warn

- The most intense ones are expected to occur in tropical regions

Swarms of devastating earthquakes are set to arrive next year due to the slowing of Earth's rotation, scientists claim.

Experts warn we 'had it easy this year' with just six severe earthquakes.

Next year we could have at least 20 serious earthquakes, and the most intense ones are expected to occur in tropical regions, home to around one billion people.

Tiny changes in the speed of our planet's rotation will trigger huge seismic activity by releasing vast amounts of underground energy, experts claim - although their research has been rejected by some scientists.

The planet's rotation is slowing down because of tidal forces between Earth and the moon.

The side of Earth closest to the moon feels its pull the strongest, while the side farthest from the moon feels its gravity less.

That difference in gravitational pull stretches the Earth, which causes tidal bulges.

These bulges pull the moon closer or farther away from Earth by around 4cm per year.

The moon exerts the opposite force on them, pulling them back toward it, creating friction and slowing down the planet's rotation.

The time the Earth takes to make a complete rotation on its axis varies by about a millionth of a second per day.

While the rotational rate hasn't declined evenly, the average day has grown longer by between 15 millionths and 25 millionths of a second every year.

[hanamizu]

The side of Earth closest to the moon feels its pull the strongest, while the side farthest from the moon feels its gravity less.

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That’s not how tidal forces work. If it were we’d have just one high tide/low tide a day instead of two. It is counter intuitive, but the moon’s gravity makes the tide high on the side facing the moon and on the side of the earth opposite of the moon.

[Maskot]

“We’re all gonna die”!
Or I COULD win the lottery next year.

[Yaelle]

Your hockey stick chart for the earth’s rotation slowing even has a puck shape. When the projection graphs are made for the next Earth Tragedy, it will form the shape of a goalie in front. And then we will be seriously doomed.

[Beowulf9]

What we should all do is start running, at a precise time, everyone on Earth, in the direction the planet rotates. That should make it go faster again.

[Attention Surplus Disorder]

Well that’s just gonna play hell with with gLoBaL wArMiNg.

[Beowulf9]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_1nR5t0cOk

[smokingfrog]

I would think a slow down would cause fewer earthquakes and more global warming - just the opposite.

[Attention Surplus Disorder]

I’ve never felt so doomed!

[I want the USA back]

What a joke of an article! This is the worst piece of writing ever.
Deadly implies death. “hit a billion people” does not imply death. It means no more than “affect a billion people.” But they want you to read: “A BILLION people will die!!!!!”.
“Slight fluctuations will release mammoth amounts...” no, no, no and no.
This is horrible writing. The only thing good about it is that it doesn’t blame Trump for the horrible disasters that will strike non-Whites more than Whites!

[11th_VA]

I would think a slow down would cause fewer earthquakes and more global warming - just the opposite.

Ahaa ! Admit it, You're a science denier !!!

[ASOC]

Ahh yes - the Daily Mail, ever the stalwart in science reporting...

The Earth is slowing down because the moon keeps pulling further and further away from the Earth. All those tidal changes are what keeps things moving..... When the tides disappear, the Earth will stop rotating.

Or something like that.

[VideoDoctor]

IF the earth is slowing down does this mean we won’t age as fast? /s

[alexander_busek]

It seems to me that any slow-down would later be compensated with a speed-up to conserve energy. Not saying that the slow down wouldn’t cause some effects. And maybe the speed-up again would do the same.

The reduction in angular momentum of the Earth's rotation is compensated for by an increase in the angular momentum of the Earth-Moon system - i.e., the Moon recedes from the Earth, and the lunar month consequently increases in length.

What this article fails to make clear is: Why now? (Moreso than in the past?)

The Earth's rotation has been slowing down since it coalesced out of the primordial nebula, ca. 4.5 billion years ago. And the fact that the Moon is receding from the Earth (at a rate of approx. 1 cm per year) means that tidal forces (which can trigger earthquakes) are actually diminishing in severity.

This article is pure sensationalism, based upon a grave misunderstanding of the scientific facts.

Regards,

[11th_VA]

IF the earth is slowing down does this mean we won’t age as fast? /s

I think it's the cause of global warming - like leaving the oven on longer ...

[AppyPappy]

No but it will still be our fault.

[nevergore]

There are approximately 16 major (Greater than 7.0 ) earthquakes each year worldwide............

Soooo.... we may get a couple of more or really about the same?

Another British false science article....

[DocRock]

Earthquakes are not being reported in a lot of areas for political and economic reasons. Oklahoma oil fields are getting hit constantly and just a few days ago, this came out. http://www.normantranscript.com/news/former-state-seismologist-testifies-officials-coerced-him-to-alter-research/article_d8383864-cb20-11e7-8206-2bc32ae1169a.html. Now we're getting 'fear porn' about more quakes from the earth slowing down.

[infool7]

DRATS!

There goes my plan to eliminate leap years by thawing the polar ice caps so the melted water can migrate to the equator thus slowing the earths rotation by changing it’s angular momentum.

[11th_VA]

[smokingfrog]

We need to make the people living near the Equatorial regions move toward the poles. That will make the earth speed up.