The Earth’s axis is shifting because of water

We’re discovering new things about the Earth all the time – just like scientists recently found water is slowly leaking down there from the surface, and people only just realising that there’s a massive ocean hidden under the Earth’s crust.

Now, experts have found that the Earth’s axis appears to be shifting for a reason no-one saw coming.

Essentially, the Earth’s tilt is changing over time. A few years ago, scientists put this down to global warming and the melting of the polar ice caps.

However, experts have published new research which suggests that groundwater extraction is also playing a bigger factor than previously thought.

The Earth’s poles can move with the melting of ice sheets. However, the depletion of groundwater caused by irrigation can also force the same thing to happen.

iStock

While things are moving at a slow rate, with the North Pole moving gradually in the direction of the UK, the phenomenon does have the capacity to change the Earth’s seasons over time in theory.

The most concerning thing, though, is what the new study published in Geophysical Research Letters suggests about the way we’re consuming Earth’s natural resources – especially when it comes to salty water being used on dehydrated land.

Ki-Weon Seo of National University is co-lead on the study. She said in a statement: "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."

It comes after scientists recently discovered water is slowly leaking down there from the surface. The liquid is dripping down descending tectonic plates, before eventually reaching the core after a 2,900 kilometre journey.

And while the process is slow, it has over billions of years formed a new surface between the molten metal of the outer core and the outer mantle of the Earth.

Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter

How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel

Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings