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Global Warming Shifts the Earth's Poles
ananyo writes "Global warming is changing the location of Earth's geographic poles, according to a study published this week. Researchers at the University of Texas, Austin, report that increased melting of the Greenland ice sheet — and to a lesser degree, ice loss in other parts of the globe — helped to shift the North Pole several centimeters east each year since 2005. From 1982 to 2005, the pole drifted southeast towards northern Labrador, Canada, at a rate of about 2 milliarcseconds — or roughly 6 centimetres — per year. But in 2005, the pole changed course and began galloping east towards Greenland at a rate of more than 7 milliarcseconds per year (abstract). The results suggest that tracking polar shifts can serve as a check on current estimates of ice loss. Scientists can locate the north and south poles to within 0.03 milliarcseconds by using Global Positioning System measurements to determine the angle of Earth's spin. When mass is lost in one part of a spinning sphere, its spin axis will tilt directly towards the position of the loss — exactly as the team observed for Greenland."
Even if these events are related, it could also be that global warming is caused by the shift of the poles, not the other way around.
Climate changes. Has done that for millions of years. Poles have moved all over the map as well. The core of the earth rotates at a different speed than the crust. Also for millions of years. No-one has a full understanding of the entire complex interactions. Studies like these will be cause for government bodies to invent new taxes and levies to "stop the poles from moving".
Let's face it people, there is nothing we can do, accept it and deal with it.
To Terminate, or not to Terminate, that's the question - SCSIROB
The implications are, we have literally broken the planet. I thought everyone knew that by now, and that everyone felt properly ashamed, and be ashamed for living the way that we do. What's the matter with you?
Global warming is ruthless. Scientists have uncovered evidence that global warming is also responsible for
That terrible taste when you drink orange juice after brushing your teeth.
Making your dog drag it's butt across the carpet.
Stealing your credit card and using it to charge lots of porn.
Windows 8 lackluster sales performance.
And the most disturbing revelation of all is that global warming steals one of your socks out of the dryer leaving you wondering why you only have 1/2 of a pair.