Pumping groundwater for farming and drinking has nudged Earth’s rotational pole by 31.5 inches (80 cm) from 1993 to 2010, according to a study reported in Geophysical Research Letters. This shift reflects the movement of about 2,150 gigatons of water from land areas into the oceans, contributing roughly 0.24 inches (6 mm) to global sea-level rise.
Lead author Ki-Weon Seo, a geophysicist at Seoul National University, said groundwater loss now surpasses all other climate-linked drivers of polar drift. “The rotational pole of Earth actually varies quite a bit,” Seo noted. “Our findings show that, among climate-related factors, groundwater redistribution has the strongest influence on the pole’s movement.”
The underlying idea is straightforward: shifting mass on a rotating object alters how it spins. As the authors put it, “Similar to placing a small weight on a spinning top, Earth’s rotation changes slightly as water is redistributed.”
Earlier NASA work in 2016 showed that water storage changes can affect Earth’s rotation, but the new research gives precise estimates. Seo and colleagues tested several simulations of observed polar motion, and only the scenario that included the 2,150-gigaton groundwater shift aligned with satellite and astronomical observations.
Surendra Adhikari, a scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory involved in the 2016 study, emphasized the relevance of the new results. “They’ve placed a number on groundwater pumping’s effect on polar motion, and it’s quite substantial,” he said in a NASA release.
Geography plays a role too. Water removed from mid-latitude regions has the strongest impact on the spin axis, which means heavy extraction in western North America and north-western India has contributed significantly to the observed drift.
Because the effect is now visible over just a few recent decades, researchers hope to look back at historical records of Earth’s orientation to track older episodes of groundwater depletion.
“Monitoring shifts in the rotational pole helps us understand how water storage changes across continents,” Seo said. Such insights may also guide water-management decisions aimed at slowing sea-level rise and mitigating climate impacts — assuming those measures are acted on soon enough.
Bull crap!
How can I give any credibility to this author when they express the shifting of the axis of a sphere in inches? Measured where? Changes in axis tilt are expressed in degrees, not length. Also, the quote “…curb FURTHER SEA LEVEL RISE…” shows the propagandizing of the author. It has been proven over an over this is a misrepresentation. In pictures presented over a 100 year time frame, such as of the Statue of Liberty, shores along the Florida and Key West coasts, the level is practically the same now as then. As a SCUBA diver, in my travels from Florida and all over the Caribbean for 50 years, I can attest I have seen unnoticeable change in the sea level on fishing and boat docks in all these areas.
Well then let’s talk about a real water thief. AI, data centers, and chip manufacturers. These places use millions of tons daily for equipment cooling. The water is then discharged, not recycled. Close them down
I for one do not believe it is from ground water relocation, we are not in control of this planets rotation or axis, we are visitors like all mankind and the creator of this planet has laws of motion that we know NOTHING about, so this is just conjecture on anyone’s part, solution= recognize God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ as creators of this planet and give Him the glory that He deserves and buckel up because judgement is coming on the wicked , read the book of Revelation and others in the Bible. Get ready as we are in the end game now.
Hello Neat post Theres an issue together with your site in internet explorer would check this IE still is the marketplace chief and a large element of other folks will leave out your magnificent writing due to this problem