Melting glaciers could cause Earth to turn slower
Recent research shows that melting glaciers could slow down the Earth's rotation and shift its central axis. Melting glaciers triggered by rising temperatures caused by global warming may be slowing down the Earth’s rotation, according to a study published in Science Advances.
Researchers gathered this information by analyzing changes in the planet’s rotations and axis as a result of both sea level rise and increased global temperatures throughout the 20th century.
Glaciers are located at high latitudes. As a result, when they melt their water redistributes towards lower latitudes. This redistribution causes a large influx of meltwater into oceans across the world, Reuters reports. It is that influx that is shifting the planet and causing small changes in the Earth’s rotation.
“If you melt ice sheets or glaciers, which happen to be close to to the poles, and all of that mass moves from the poles toward the equators, that movement is very similar [to] a figure skater who puts her arms out,” said Jerry Mitrovica, a professor of geophysics at Harvard University. “The melting of glaciers acts to slow the spin of the Earth in a measurable way.
During the 20th century the melting slowed Earth’s rotation and increased the duration of a day by around a thousandth of a second.
In addition to a slower rotation, the movement of ice and meltwater is also causing a slight shift of the north pole. This phenomenon is known as “polar wander”. According to previous data, the melting ice sheets and rising sea levels have been moving the north pole at rates of around less than one centimeter per year.
While the effects are small–and while a slower rotation does not pose any dangers to Earth–they are another example of the impact that climate change has had on the planet. Furthermore, if the polar ice sheets continue to melt at high rates their impact on Earth’s rotation will steadily grow.
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