The earth has tilted 31.5 inches. It shouldn’t happen.

• When humans pump groundwater, it has a significant impact on the tilt of the Earth’s rotation.

• In addition, a study documents how much influence groundwater pumping has on climate change.

• Understanding this relatively new data can provide a better understanding of how to help stave off sea level rise.

Water has power. So much power, in fact, that pumping Earth’s groundwater can change the planet’s tilt and rotation. It can also affect sea level rise and other consequences of climate change.

Pumping up groundwater appears to have a greater consequence than ever previously thought. But now – thanks to a study published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters—we can see that in less than two decades the Earth has poured 31.5 inches as a result of groundwater pumping. This equates to .24 inches of sea level rise.

“The Earth’s rotation pole is actually changing a lot,” said Ki-Weon Seo, a geophysicist at Seoul National University and study leader, in a declaration. “Our study shows that among climate-related causes, the redistribution of groundwater actually has the greatest impact on the rotation bar’s operation.”

With Land moving on a rotating pole, the distribution of water on the planet affects the mass distribution. “Like adding a little bit of weight to a spinning top,” the authors say, “the earth rotates a little differently when the water is moved around.”

NASA research published in 2016 alerted us that the distribution of water can change the Earth’s rotation. This study in Geophysical Research Letters trying to add some hard numbers to that realization. “I am very happy to find the unexplained cause of the rotary rod drift,” says Seo. “On the other hand, as an Earthling and a father, I am concerned and surprised to see that groundwater pumping is another source of sea level rise.”

The study included data from 1993 to 2010 and showed that the pumping of as much as 2,150 gigatons groundwater has caused a change in Earth’s tilt of about 31.5 inches. The pumping is mainly for irrigation and human use, with the groundwater eventually moving to the oceans.

In the study, researchers modeled observed changes in the drift of the Earth’s rotation pole and the movement of water. Across different scenarios, the only model that matched the drift was one that included 2,150 gigatons of groundwater distribution.

Surendra Adhikari, a scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory who was involved in the 2016 study, says the additional research is important. “They’ve quantified the role that groundwater pumping plays on polar motion,” he says in a press release, “and it’s quite significant.”

Where the water moves from – and to – matters. Redistribution of water from mid-latitudes makes the biggest difference, so our intense movement of water from both western North America and northwestern India has played a key role in seesaw changes.

Now that the effects of water movement have been known for such a short—and relatively recent—time, digging through historical data can help show trends and provide greater depth to the understanding of groundwater movement effects.

“It is useful to observe changes in the Earth’s rotation pole,” says Seo, “to understand variations in continental-scale water storage.”

This data can also help conservationists understand how to work toward further averting sea ​​level rise and other climate problems. Hopefully changes can be implemented correctly over time.

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