We’re constantly making new discoveries about the Earth, and recently, scientists uncovered the startling revelation that water is slowly seeping down from the surface and that there’s a massive hidden ocean beneath the Earth’s crust.
But now, experts have made another unexpected discovery: the Earth’s axis is shifting, and the cause is not what anyone anticipated.
It turns out that the Earth’s tilt is changing due to groundwater extraction, a factor that was previously underestimated. While the melting of ice caps was initially blamed for the shift in the Earth’s poles, new research suggests that the depletion of groundwater, particularly through extensive irrigation, is also playing a significant role.
The gradual movement of the North Pole towards the UK may seem insignificant, but in theory, it has the potential to alter the Earth’s seasons over time. The implications of this shift on the planet’s climate are concerning, especially in light of the way we are consuming the Earth’s natural resources, including the use of salty water on dehydrated land.
The study, published in Geophysical Research Letters, emphasizes the significant impact of groundwater redistribution on the rotational pole’s drift, as highlighted by Ki-Weon Seo of National University, co-lead on the study. According to Seo, “Earth’s rotational pole actually changes a lot. Our study shows that among climate-related causes, the redistribution of groundwater actually has the largest impact on the drift of the rotational pole.”
As if this wasn’t enough, it was recently discovered that water is slowly leaking from the surface, a process that involves liquid seeping down tectonic plates and eventually reaching the Earth’s core after a 2,900-kilometer journey. Over billions of years, this process has led to the formation of a new surface between the outer core’s molten metal and the Earth’s outer mantle.
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