Posted on 06/18/2023 7:07:40 AM PDT by logi_cal869
By pumping water out of the ground and moving it elsewhere, humans have actually shifted such a large mass of water that the Earth tilted nearly 80 centimeters east between 1993 and 2010 alone, changing the planet’s rotational pole, according to a new study published in the American Geophysical Union’s Geophysical Research Letters.
Sea level rise is one of the most significant phenomena associated with the warming climate. Contemporary sea level rise has been monitored extensively by multiple observational techniques.
The research was entitled “Drift of the Earth’s pole confirms groundwater depletion as a significant contributor to global sea level rise 1993-2010.”
Based on climate models, scientists previously estimated humans pumped 2,150 gigatons of groundwater, equivalent to more than six millimeters of sea level rise during this period – but validating that estimate has been difficult.
One approach lies with the Earth’s rotational pole, which is the point around which the planet rotates. It moves during a process called polar motion, which is when the position of the Earth’s rotational pole varies relative to the crust. The distribution of water on the planet affects how mass is distributed. Like adding a tiny bit of weight to a spinning top, the Earth spins a little differently as water is moved around.
“Earth’s rotational pole actually changes a lot,” said Ki-Weon Seo, a geophysicist at Seoul National University who led the study. “Our study shows that among climate-related causes, the redistribution of groundwater actually has the largest impact on the drift of the rotational pole.”
Water: Changing the Earth's rotation Water’s ability to change the Earth’s rotation was discovered in 2016, and until now, the specific contribution of groundwater to these rotational changes was unexplored. In the new study, researchers modeled the observed changes in the drift of Earth’s rotational pole and the movement of water – first, with only ice sheets and glaciers considered and then adding in different scenarios of groundwater redistribution.
The model matched the observed polar drift only once the researchers included 2,150 gigatons of groundwater redistribution. Without it, the model was off by 78.5 centimeters or 4.3 centimeters of drift per year.
“I’m very glad to find the unexplained cause of the rotation pole drift,” Seo said. “On the other hand, as a resident of Earth and a father, I’m concerned and surprised to see that pumping groundwater is another source of sea-level rise.”
The location of the groundwater matters for how much it could change polar drift; redistributing water from the midlatitudes has a larger impact on the rotational pole. During the study period, the most water was redistributed in western North America and northwestern India, both at midlatitudes.
Countries’ attempts to slow groundwater depletion rates, especially in those sensitive regions, could theoretically alter the change in drift, but only if such conservation approaches are sustained for decades, Seo said.
The next step for this research could be looking to the past. “Observing changes in Earth’s rotational pole is useful for understanding continent-scale water storage variations,” Seo said. “Polar motion data are available from as early as the late 19th century. So, we can potentially use those data to understand continental water storage variations during the last century. Were there any hydrological regime changes resulting from the warming climate? Polar motion could hold the answer.”
“This is a nice contribution and an important documentation for sure,” said Surendra Adhikari, a research scientist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory who was not involved in this study. Adhikari published a 2016 paper on water redistribution impacting rotational drift. “They’ve quantified the role of groundwater pumping on polar motion, and it’s pretty significant.”
The rotational pole normally changes by several meters within about a year, so changes due to groundwater pumping don’t run the risk of shifting seasons. But on geologic time scales, polar drift can have an impact on climate, Adhikari added.
So the poles shifted 2.6 feet?
Why do they care? The pole has been moving by hundreds of miles, as I last heard.
News flash for these folks….sea has been rising for 26.000 years.
BS!
Nice job. It is amazing what conscious thought can do.
The magnetic north pole is over 400 miles out of place. It has no effect on anything because it is not blamed on man. (maybe we have moved too much metal around?)
When you dig dirt and pile it up high in skyscrapers it also affects the earth’s rotation.
So why doesn’t the sea level rise at Plymouth Rock, or Key West, or Ellis Island, or at Alcatraz? Does it only rise in the Petri dish?
The next big hoax…coming to you at taxpayer’s expense.
Yes, but I wouldn't be surprized if scientists still don't have a complete list of forces affecting earth's rotational pole.
It fact, I challenge scientists to prove that gravitational forces causing high and low tide DO NOT influence earth rotational pole.
so if everyone picks up a rock and throws it to their left we’ll destroy the planet ? LOL
What about the drag on the Earth’s rotation caused by WIND TURBINES!
Yup.
“Science” doesn’t mean much anymore when they approve grants for any nutty study proposal.
The flow of $$ needs to be restricted with a much higher bar for grant applications.
This is not an example of science working. Everything is an estimate. The amount of groundwater pumped out is unknown. There is also the effect of groundwater seeping back in. You could say there were 27.038 gigatons of water pumped from aquifers and nobody could say whether that was true or not.
You could also say that sea level is rising 2 centimeters per year but after 10 years it would only be 20 centimeters. If you go down to the ocean with a ruler you will have a hard time getting sea level to stop rising and falling long enough to take a measurement.
There is already a wobble baked in to the earth’s rotation due to the fact that the Antarctic ice mass is not centered on the South Pole. No scientists are saying how many gigatons of water have been frozen into the Antarctic ice mass. That for sure will change the mass distribution of water on the earth.
Does Spring arrive later? My observation here in Indiana is that the seasons have moved about a half a month, i.e, September weather now goes into mid-October, but on the other end February extends into March.
I first noticed this about 30 years ago.
Doesn’t the Earth already have a slight wobble on its access? From what I understand in a couple of thousand years Polaris will no longer be our North Star because of this.
Sarcasm:
Know it, live it, love it.
Throw in the other variables, like sun, moon, molten center, etc and the question becomes unmanageable. If we look at two, three, maybe more it becomes unmanageable and we don’t feel in control.
When we are not in control, can’t understand something, it leads to God as the answer. But we can’t have that so we look at two variables and feel like God.
The first think I learned in statistics class from a wise old professor is, “Statistics NEVER gives you an answer, at best it might give you another question.
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