Posted on 11/15/2025 1:18:32 PM PST by Diana in Wisconsin
Water has power. So much power, in fact, that pumping Earth’s groundwater can change the planet’s tilt and rotation. It can also impact sea-level rise and other consequences of climate change.
Pumping groundwater appears to have a greater consequence than ever previously thought. But now—thanks to a study published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters—we can see that, in less than two decades, Earth has tilted 31.5 inches as a result of pumping groundwater. This equates to .24 inches of sea level rise.
“Earth’s rotational pole actually changes a lot,” Ki-Weon Seo, a geophysicist at Seoul National University and study lead, says in a statement. “Our study shows that among climate-related causes, the redistribution of groundwater actually has the largest impact on the drift of the rotational pole.”
With the Earth moving on a rotational pole, the distribution of water on the planet impacts distribution of mass. “Like adding a tiny bit of weight to a spinning top,” authors say, “the Earth spins a little differently as water is moved around.”
NASA research published in 2016 alerted us to the fact that the distribution of water can change the Earth’s rotation. This study in Geophysical Research Letters attempts to add some hard figures to that realization. “I’m very glad to find the unexplained cause of the rotation pole drift,” Seo says. “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 study included data from 1993 through 2010, and showed that the pumping of as much as 2,150 gigatons of groundwater has caused a change in the Earth’s tilt of roughly 31.5 inches. The pumping is largely for irrigation and human use, with the groundwater eventually relocating to the oceans.
In the study, researchers modeled observed changes in the drift of Earth’s rotational pole and the movement of water. Across varying scenarios, the only model that matched the drift was one that included 2,150 gigatons of groundwater distribution.
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I always feel like I’m walking uphill. This must be the culprit.
Because "science!"
thesis: people are bad unless they are 3rd world immigrants then they are awesome. But you are bad and bad for da erfff.
“Earth Has Tilted 31.5 Inches. That Shouldn’t Happen.”
Yeah? Ask the Earth about that.
AFAIK earth’s axis has always been changing. The largest desert called Sahara was once upon a time a lush green tropical forest.
I blame Guam.
Did we add more water or lose the water??
Article:
“researchers modeled”
Garbage in garbage out.
Just when I think “science” can’t get kookier—they lower the bar even further.
Bring back witch-doctors!
I confess! I did it. I drove my pickup truck last week.
Media Climate change BS. Totally normal, and totally observable.
31 and 1/2. The 1/2 part is a nice touch.
I don’t know... Hank Johnson knows why it’s happening.
in less than two decades, Earth has tilted 31.5 inches as a result of pumping groundwater. This equates to .24 inches of sea level rise.
That means in a hundred years, the sea levels will rise a little over an inch! We're all going to die!
No, this should never happen. They should quit throwing all this BS at us.
It’s the climate refugees moving to Western countries. They have to go back or the Earth will tip over like Guam.
No, this should never happen. They should quit throwing all this BS at us.
One man’s BS equals another man’s grant money.
I hate it when that happens.
Text: “Earth’s rotational pole actually changes a lot,” Ki-Weon Seo, a geophysicist at Seoul National University and study lead, says in a statement.
Put straws or small pipes of some sort on the nails after you put them in the wall. This extends the plane of the nails and leads the wire down across the nails much easier and you are more likely to get it strait the first time.
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