Saturday 9 April 2016

Earth Throwing A Wobbly

Jelly, weebles and my Uncle Fred after a night in the Nags Head are all things that wobble but we can
also include the earth which wobbles on its axis although thanks to Global warming the Earth's wobble is changing.
Melting ice sheets, especially in Greenland, are changing the distribution of weight on Earth which has caused the wobble to change course, according to a new NASA study.
Scientists have been measuring the wobble since 1899 and for almost the entire 20th century it migrated a bit toward Canada but that has changed and now it’s moving toward England.
'The recent shift from the 20th-century direction is very dramatic' said a NASA spokesman before saying the shift is harmless but 'highlights how real and profoundly large an impact humans are having on the planet'.
'Since 2003, Greenland has lost on average more than 272 trillion kilograms of ice a year, and that affects the way the Earth wobbles in a manner similar to a figure skater lifting one leg while spinning, said Nasa scientist Eirk Ivins, the study’s co-author.
'On top of that, West Antarctica loses 124 trillion kgs of ice and East Antarctica gains about 74 trillion kgs of ice yearly, helping tilt the wobble further' Ivins said.
What they don't explain is what it means for Canada who no longer have the direction of wobble and England who now has it but i do expect to see a raise in wobble deniers, people who refuse to accept that the Earth is wobbling at all although i think m Uncle Fred may have just found the perfect excuse why he leans to one side on a Saturday night.

5 comments:

Liber - Latin for "The Free One" said...
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Falling on a bruise said...

No idea what that first line means.

You don't believe the earths wobble has changed or you agree that it has changed but you don't believe it is due to the redistribution of weight?

Liber - Latin for "The Free One" said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Falling on a bruise said...

They cant prove what they have been measuring since 1899??

Liber - Latin for "The Free One" said...
This comment has been removed by the author.