NASA-Funded Studies Explain How Climate Is Changing Earth’s Rotation

 

NASA-Funded Studies Explain How Climate Is Changing Earth’s Rotation

Recent NASA-funded studies have revealed that climate change is influencing Earth's rotation, causing days to lengthen and the planet's axis to shift. Researchers analyzed over 120 years of data, linking these changes to melting ice, groundwater depletion, and rising sea levels.

1. Lengthening of Days

   • Earth's days are getting longer, currently increasing by 1.33 milliseconds per century since 2000.
   • This acceleration is faster than any point in the last century, primarily due to the melting of glaciers and ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica, driven by human-induced climate change.

2. Polar Motion

   • The planet's spin axis has shifted by approximately 30 feet (10 meters) in the past 120 years.
   • Changes in groundwater, ice sheets, glaciers, and sea levels account for 90% of these oscillations in the Earth's axis.

Mechanisms Behind the Changes

• Mass Redistribution: Melting ice and depleted groundwater shift mass from the poles to the equatorial regions, causing Earth's rotation to slow and its axis to wobble.
• Satellite Observations: Data from the GRACE and GRACE-FO missions, along with historical records, have enabled scientists to track these mass changes and their impacts on Earth's rotation.

Impact of Human Activities

• The rapid melting of polar ice and groundwater depletion, largely due to human activities, are significant contributors to these changes.
• If greenhouse gas emissions continue unchecked, the lengthening of days could increase to 2.62 milliseconds per century by 2100, surpassing the natural tidal effects of the Moon, which currently lengthen days by 2.4 milliseconds per century.

Future Projections

• Reducing emissions could slow the rate of day lengthening, but the lingering effects of already released greenhouse gases will persist for decades.
• Continued monitoring and analysis are essential to understand and mitigate the long-term impacts of climate change on Earth's rotational dynamics.

Conclusion

In just over a century, human activities have significantly altered Earth's climate system, affecting the planet's rotation and axis. These findings underscore the profound impact of climate change on fundamental planetary processes and highlight the urgent need for global climate action.

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