Posted on 06/20/2023 9:28:02 AM PDT by Red Badger
Groundwater extraction and redistribution by humans caused the Earth’s rotational pole to shift nearly a meter in two decades (1993-2010), contributing to a sea level rise, reveals a study in Geophysical Research Letters. The most water redistribution occurred in western North America and northwestern India, and efforts to reduce groundwater depletion in such areas could theoretically affect this shift. The phenomenon doesn’t risk shifting seasons but could impact climate over geological time scales.
The shifting of mass and consequent sea level rise due to groundwater withdrawal has caused the Earth’s rotational pole to wander nearly a meter in two decades.
By pumping water out of the ground and moving it elsewhere, humans have shifted such a large mass of water that the Earth tilted nearly 80 centimeters (31.5 inches) east between 1993 and 2010 alone, according to a new study published on June 15 in Geophysical Research Letters, AGU’s journal for short-format, high-impact research with implications spanning the Earth and space sciences.
Based on climate models, scientists previously estimated humans pumped 2,150 gigatons of groundwater, equivalent to more than 6 millimeters (0.24 inches) of sea level rise, from 1993 to 2010. But validating that estimate is 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.”
Observed Polar Motion Groundwater Mass Redistribution
Here, the researchers compare the observed polar motion (red arrow, “OBS”) to the modeling results without (dashed blue arrow) and with (solid blue arrow) groundwater mass redistribution. The model with groundwater mass redistribution is a much better match for the observed polar motion, telling the researchers the magnitude and direction of groundwater’s influence on the Earth’s spin. Credit: Seo et al. (2023), Geophysical Research Letters
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 only matched the observed polar drift once the researchers included 2150 gigatons of groundwater redistribution. Without it, the model was off by 78.5 centimeters (31 inches), or 4.3 centimeters (1.7 inches) 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.”
“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 the 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 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 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 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 100 years. Were there any hydrological regime changes resulting from the warming climate? Polar motion could hold the answer.”
Reference: “Drift of Earth’s Pole Confirms Groundwater Depletion as a Significant Contributor to Global Sea Level Rise 1993–2010” by Ki-Weon Seo, Dongryeol Ryu, Jooyoung Eom, Taewhan Jeon, Jae-Seung Kim, Kookhyoun Youm, Jianli Chen, Clark R. Wilson, 15 June 2023, Geophysical Research Letters.
DOI: 10.1029/2023GL103509
Authors:
Ki-Weon Seo (corresponding author), Center for Educational Research and Department of Earth Science Education, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
Jae-Seung Kim, Kookhyoun Youm, Department of Earth Science Education, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
Dongryeol Ryu, Department of Infrastructure Engineering, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia
Jooyoung Eom, Department of Earth Science Education, Kyungpook National University, Daegu, Republic of Korea
Taewhan Jeon, Center for Educational Research, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
Jianli Chen, Department of Land Surveying and Geo-informatics, and Research Institute for Land and Space, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong
Clark Wilson, Department of Geological Sciences, and Center for Space Research, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
“Based on climate models” what models? Yhose that have been wrong every time?
Now-a-days, anytime I want an especially jolly laugh, I go look through some establishment science reports.
Hooo-wheee!
Gallumphs galore with those hooty-bagels.
What if we pumped progressives into the depleted groundwater areas?
Pretty much utter balderdash.
Every climate change shriek dooesn’t deserve to be regurgitated.
So they admit that the model did not accurately forecast what actually happened, but then did a "study" to show what would have happened had the model been accurate? Basically they're acting like a sports show host who predicts a team will win the Super Bowl and then goes on the air after the team loses and explains how if they had won, this would have been the score and who would have gotten the touchdowns. Wait, almost forgot: the media would do a story saying how the team won and who got the touchdowns. I think I got it now.
It strikes me as false too. I’m often wrong but water, like electricity simply changes form but does not go away. Every drop since God created the earth is still here on this planet in some form.
Exactly
Re
Houston, I have found the problem:
Based on climate models,
^^^
Plus
’ scientists previously estimated humans ... But validating that estimate is difficult.’
Now all we need is an official ‘consensus’ to justify more constraints on human behavior.
The earth has had that little wobble ever since God set it spinning.
“Based on climate models…”
Reading any further is a waste of time. Those models are useless GIGO.
“OH MY GOD WE’RE ALL GONNA DIE!!!”
Yes, we are; the only question is when and how.
Using models to represent the reality of the world = Ignorance in, ignorance out…
It’s Voodoo Science.
Most of the distribution of groundwater was in North America and western India??? Why? Could it be that these two nations have excellent reporting of wells, where almost all other nations on other continents do not? I suspect this study suffers from data availability bias. Their amount of water removed from groundwater is AWAG (a wild ass guess), not based on any empirical data, and they used it along with other non-existent data (ocean rise) to explain the minuscule polar wander precession which has been measured and documented for centuries before supposed global warming changed any ice masses on Antarctica to raise the water levels. No measurable rises of average sea level of any significant amount, certainly not of 0.25” over 17 years from just added ground water has been seen. In addition, to claim this is addition to rises in ocean levels from melting ice caps during 2000 to 2010 when a cooling period was occurring is ludicrous.
I had to go look it up: the polar axis of the Earth drift and moved 10 meters, 11 feet, during the 20th Century… a rate of 4” inches, or 100cm per year.
What is significant about this is this article makes the claim that in 17 years, the polar axis moved a dire 68”, almost 2 meters… a good percentage of it due supposed increased anthropogenic groundwater drilling and pumping causing a quarter inch rise in global ocean levels (ignoring that is not the theoretical methodology proposed for the bulk of axis drift, but rather the mass of ice buildup on Greenland), but 68” divided by the 17 years of the study shows the axis motion during those years was…. Wait for it… 4” per year! Exactly the same random motion about the pole location as the 100 preceding years!
Oh, my God, poor Polaris is going to be unseated as the Pole Star… Thuban will become then new North Star in just a short … 6,000 years!
Oh, panic! Run in circles! Ban wells! Prohibit pumping water from the ground! The Earth is going to tilt over! Run and shout. Throw money at us and we will solve this existential crisis!
This is these authors’ version of Dark Matter and Dark Energy… to get their model to the observed 68”, they were 31” short… so they muddied the waters by putting in fudge factors of Dark Water. 😂 Only then did their model work… a close reading shows it to be true. “Estimate” = WILD ASS GUESS that Just exactly gave them the results they wanted? Right, sure!
...and then some.
Just stop bathing ,washing clothes, cars, drinking water,
flushing toilets ,you know ,the things we all need to do to keep the earth from dying.
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