When you picture the Earth spinning in space you imagine it rotating just like a globe does, with two static poles and a line running from north to south. Unfortunately, things aren't nearly that simple, and as conditions on Earth change so do the locations of the North and South poles. Scientists have known this for some time, but in recent years the poles have begun to drift faster and more dramatically than they have in the past. There have been many theories as to why this axis drift is happening, but a new study published in Geophysical Research Letters pins it on climate change, which means it's almost certainly our own doing.
In the paper, researchers draw a clear link between the increase in ice melt due to global warming and the more dramatic shifts in Earth's axis. The key is that as the ice melts it results in the transfer of mass from a static point on Earth to the oceans. This changes the way the planet moves in space and, as a result, causes a wobble that is measurable in the motion of our planet's poles.
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Earth is wobbling, and it’s probably our fault originally appeared on BGR.com on Tue, 27 Apr 2021 at 01:38:04 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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