Earth Slows Rotation Increasing Day Length
Geophysics researchers at ETH Zurich and the University of Vienna report in Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth that Earth’s rotation slowed, raising day length at about 1.33 milliseconds per century during 2000–2020. The team attributes the change primarily to ocean mass redistribution from polar and glacier melt, inferred from benthic foraminifera sea-level proxies and a physics-informed diffusion model. The trend could affect precise space navigation by late 21st century.
Key Points
- 1Measure shows day length increased at about 1.33 ms per century during 2000–2020
- 2Attribute change to ocean mass redistribution as meltwater shifts mass toward the equator
- 3Impacts precise space navigation and Earth-rotation models; expect stronger effects by 2100
Scoring Rationale
Peer-reviewed, novel attribution using physics-informed ML; limited by paleoclimate proxy uncertainties and long-term extrapolation, requiring cautious interpretation.
Sources
Public references used for this report.
Practice with real Hotels & Lodging data
90 SQL & Python problems · 15 industry datasets
250 free problems · No credit card
See all Hotels & Lodging problems
