 "Earth's poles may shift and it's our fault, warns alarming study")
A new study has found that Earth’s geographic poles may shift their position in coming years due to alarming levels of ice melt because of climate change.
The study, published in March in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, says the dramatic ice melt would redistribute the ocean mass around the globe, which could lead to a change in the planet’s axis of rotation.
Now, scientists fear that this phenomenon may end up shifting the North and South poles by approximately 89 feet or 27 metres by 2100.
Pattern identified from the past
The scientists drew a pattern by observing ice sheet melt and the movement of the poles from 1900 to 2018 and established a link between the two.
Here’s the science behind it. As Earth rotates, the way its mass is spread out — like how ice melts or how water moves in the oceans — can make the planet wobble slightly on its axis, kind of like a spinning top that isn’t perfectly balanced. Some of these wobbles happen regularly and can be predicted. For example, shifts in air pressure, ocean movement, and even changes deep inside the Earth between its core and mantle can all cause these tiny tilts.
Now, scientists have predicted that due to climate change, the North Pole may shift westward by more than 89 feet by 2100. Even under an optimistic scenario, the pole may shift as much as 39 feet (12 m) relative to its location in 1900.
The study co-author Mostafa Kiani Shahvandi was quoted as saying by Live Science: “This effect is somewhat surpassing the effect of glacial isostatic adjustment, which is the effect of solid Earth rebound after the termination of the last ice age."
During the Ice Age, massive glaciers pushed down on the Earth’s crust, making the land sink under their weight. When those glaciers melted, the pressure was lifted, and the land slowly rose again — a process called “post-glacial rebound.” This shift in weight across the planet changed how Earth’s mass was spread out, which in turn nudged the position of the poles slightly. So, the movement of ice and water actually helped reshape how the planet spins.
Impact Shorts
View All“This means that what humans have done has somewhat shifted the pole more than the effect of ice ages,” Kiani Shahvandi said.
According to experts, a shift in the poles and the Earth’s rotational axis may disrupt satellite and spacecraft navigation.
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