Earth’s rotation is affected by humans in one huge way

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Scientists warn that our use of water has been so intense that it has altered the Earth’s poles.

Written by Douglas Helm | Updated 5 minutes ago

Humankind has pumped out a ton of Earth’s water over the years, and apparently, we’ve pumped so much that it has moved the poles. According to ScienceAlert.com, we pumped out so much groundwater between 1993 and 2010 that the poles migrated 80 cm (31.5 in) eastward.

These findings are published in an analysis led by geophysicist Ki-wyun-seo of Seoul National University in South Korea.

In addition, the redistribution of the Earth’s water, specifically groundwater, has also confirmed the estimates that the depletion of this groundwater has led to a 6 mm rise in sea levels. While the Earth’s rotation poles change frequently, this study specifically seeks to find out how human influence moves the poles, and found that groundwater extraction is the largest contributor to Earth-related causes.

To better understand how the Earth’s axis is affected by climate changes and water redistribution, you need to consider how the Earth’s rotation axis shifts when the planet’s distribution mass changes around the axis. The effect became prominent in the 1990s due to melting glaciers and ice sheets, but the effect of groundwater extraction has not been specifically studied yet.

Scientists initially estimated in 2019 that about 2,150 gigatonnes of groundwater was pumped between 1993 and 2010, but there was no good way to confirm this until now.

Seo and his team sought to look at this analysis and find out how the redistribution of water on Earth by humans actually affected the movement of the poles. They achieved this by monitoring climate models and using observational data of pole movements.

First, they modeled how the poles would move with melting glaciers and ice sheets alone, and then added groundwater extraction to the equation. The model would perfectly match the data when they adjusted the groundwater estimates to 2,150 Gt, confirming previous observations of groundwater impact.

We have now confirmed that the redistribution of Earth’s water contributes to sea level rise and the movement of the poles, and we know that the poles were moving at a rate of about 4.36 cm per year. The study indicates that this movement could still be ongoing, but the data only increased until 2010. With that in mind, what is the solution to reduce further movement and sea level rise?

Fortunately, the study also revealed the greatest impact of groundwater pumping, removing groundwater from mid-latitudes of North America and northern India causing the most significant uplift and movement.

Thus, by trying to reduce groundwater extraction rates in these regions of the world, we may be able to mitigate the negative effects it causes. However, this is easier said than done and may take some time.

The primary use of the ground water we pump is for agricultural purposes, as 70% of the groundwater goes to agriculture. Obviously, we will need to implement technology to reduce water waste to help counteract some of the impact of groundwater extraction on the poles. However, something is better than nothing, so hopefully something can be done to help reduce groundwater extraction rates as quickly as possible.

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