Groundwater abstraction has tilted the Earth’s axis, says study

Research concludes that human-induced movement of water tilted the planet nearly 80 centimeters from 1993 to 2010

Groundwater withdrawal and its movement caused the displacement of a mass so large that it tilted the Earth nearly 80 centimeters to the east from 1993 to 2010, shifting its axis of rotation.

Groundwater movement can change the Earth’s axis of rotation (Photo: Getty Images)

A study published this month in the journal Geophysical Research Letters looked at how mass changes and resulting sea level rise are due to Groundwater extraction has shifted the axis around which the Earth rotates.

The disposition of water affects the distribution of mass on the planet. The Earth spins a little differently when water moves, like adding some weight to a top.

The pole of rotation normally moves several meters in a year, so changes caused by groundwater pumping aren’t likely to affect the seasons in the short term, according to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory researcher Surendra Adhikari, quoted by the American Geophysical Union.

However, over geological timescales, polar drift can impact climate, said Adhikari, who was not involved in the research but published another study in 2016 on the impact of water redistribution on rotational drift.

2,150 gigatons of water captured

A The ability of water to alter the Earth’s rotation was discovered in 2016but the specific contribution of groundwater to these rotational changes has not been studied so far.

The researchers relied on climate models estimate that humans pumped 2,150 gigatons of groundwater from 1993 to 2010, equivalent to more than six millimeters of sea level rise over the period, but it is difficult to validate that estimate on the oceans.

They then modeled the observed changes in the rotational pole shift of the Earth and in the water movement, first considering only ice sheets and glaciers, and then adding different groundwater redistribution scenarios. According to the model, the groundwater withdrawal moved the axis of rotation 78.5 centimeters, or 4.3 centimeters of deviation per year over the period.

Ki-Weon Seo of Seoul National University, who led the research, said the study found “the unexplained cause of rotational pole shift” and expressed concern that groundwater pumping was “another source of sea level rise”.

Western North America and northwestern India lead the absorption

A localization of groundwater it is important to know how much polar drift can change, as the redistribution of water in mid-latitudes has a greater impact on the rotational pole.

During the period studied, the greatest amount of groundwater redistributed was in western North America and northwestern India, both in mid-latitudes, the American Geophysical Union found.

Attempts by countries to reduce groundwater depletion rates, especially in sensitive regions, could theoretically alter drift change, but only if these conservation approaches are maintained for decades, Seo said.

This content is a work originally published by the German DW agency. The opinion expressed by the publication does not reflect or represent the opinion of this portal or its collaborators.

Source: Terra

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