Posted on 08/26/2006 4:20:53 AM PDT by aculeus
Earth might have spun on its side to keep its balance in the distant past, and could do so again, scientists reported today.
Alaska was suddenly at the equator, the thinking goes.
Scientists already know that the North Pole wanders over time. But a theory known as true polar wander suggests that if a very heavy object, like an oversized volcano forms far from the equator, the force of the planet's rotation would pull the object away from the axis the Earth spins around.
Should a mass such as the very heavy volcano become unbalanced, Earth would tilt and rotate itself until the extra weight moves somewhere near the equator.
Analyzed samples of ancient sediments found in the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard show that such an event may have indeed happened in the past.
"The sediments we have recovered from Norway offer the first good evidence that a true polar wander event happened about 800 million years ago," said Adam Maloof, an assistant professor of geosciences at Princeton University. "If we can find good corroborating evidence from other parts of the world as well, we will have a very good idea that our planet is capable of this sort of dramatic change."
(Excerpt) Read more at livescience.com ...
Hmmm. Should I go out and purchase ultra cold weather gear?
This suggests we should limit the movements of Michael Moore.
Please...now tie in "Globull" Warming with huge volcanos...a hint at Bush...and your set.
Not quite yet, wait a day or two, so as not to cause a panic!!!
Well, that'll teach the Muslims.
This suggests we should limit the movements of Michael Moore.
Quick, tie that sucker down before he moves again.
Sounds just like a science fiction book I read many years ago! (wish I could remember the title?)
If it happens, it will be . . .
Wait for it . . .
BUSH'S FAULT!!!!
EVERYBODY PANIC!!!
We need legislation and we need it NOW! Heavy things and magnets must be distributed EVENLY around the globe, the US must NOT hoard these dangerous items any longer!
Damn those evil Pubbies/Bushbots/Neocons/Christians and their magnet monopoly!
Halliburton is making gazillions of dollars off of the tilt!
If we all lean the wrong way it will be THE END OF CIVILIZATION!
That's it! To be safe, we must all LEAN TO THE LEFT!
(I really shouldn't have to say that this post was tongue-in-cheek, but I had better do so... I was joking, I don't REALLY think those things)
Al Gore's next book: Earth in the Unbalance
During the Cold War, there was even speculation that all-out nuclear war could tilt the Earth on its axis and cause massive climate changes as a result.
The essential question with this type of data is one of whether the rotational axis of the planet changes or just the magnetic field shifts. The latter is known to have occurred in the past (polar reversals).
While not fully understanding if this could be so, I am curious if a major impact (Ni/Fe) might cause a temporary shift in magnetic field.
No it doesn't...it still happens slowly - a few feet a year.
"Polar Shift" - another CLive Cussler "save the planet" diatribe, had this exact scenario...of course induced by evil men.
I recall reading an estimate by an MIT physicist that if all the nuclear weapons in the world were set off at the same place and time, the resulting explosion would be short by a factor of one trillion in order to move the earth one foot.
When I lived in Nebraska I wass fascinated by the evidence from ash pits of a tropical climate in this plains state. There is a wooly mamouth in the state museum and other animals associated with jungles. Then they found evidence it was once a pine forest.
For this, I can vouch. My equator has moved over the last decade - sorta tilted to the front...
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