A recent study highlights a lesser-known consequence of the climate crisis melting of polar ice caps is causing Earth to spin more slowly, increasing the length of days at an unprecedented rate. Published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the paper reveals how water flowing from Greenland and Antarctica is resulting in more mass around the equator, a phenomenon co-author Surendra Adhikari of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory likens to a figure skater extending their arms during a spin, slowing down their rotation.
While Earth is often thought of as a sphere, it is more accurately described as an “oblate spheroid,” bulging around the equator much like a satsuma. This shape is constantly changing due to various factors such as daily tides, tectonic plate movements, and sudden shifts from earthquakes and volcanic activity.
The study utilized observational techniques like Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) and the Global Positioning System (GPS) to measure Earth’s rotation with high precision, to about one-hundredth of a millisecond. Ancient eclipse records were also analyzed to understand variations in the planet’s orientation and the length of day over millennia.
The slowing of Earth’s rotation, though imperceptible to humans, has significant implications for space travel and Earth navigation. Accurate knowledge of Earth’s orientation is crucial for communicating with spacecraft, such as the Voyager probes, where even slight deviations can lead to significant errors over long distances.
Comparison with the Moon’s Gravitational Pull
The study compares the impact of the climate crisis on Earth’s rotation with the well-known effect of the Moon’s gravitational pull, which causes “tidal friction” and a gradual deceleration of Earth’s rotation by 2.40 milliseconds per century. The study concludes that if high greenhouse gas emissions continue, the effect of a warming climate on Earth’s rotation will surpass that of the Moon’s pull by the end of the 21st century.
Since 1900, climate change has caused days to lengthen by approximately 0.8 milliseconds. Under a worst-case scenario of high emissions, this figure could increase to 2.2 milliseconds by 2100. While these changes might seem negligible, their implications for precise space and Earth navigation are profound.
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