Earth’s days are not exactly the same length. Scientists have been recording small variations in for decades. These changes are minuscule—sometimes just a few milliseconds—and mostly imperceptible, but scientists are keen to understand them as they point to a much more monumental change: Our planet’s rotation speed is shifting. Scientists have already pinpointed a handful
Interactions between Earth’s solid inner core, its molten outer core and its rocky mantle control how fast the planet rotates.Credit: Gregoire Cirade/SPL Small fluctuations in the length of Earth’s 24-hour day can be explained by a battle between forces generated by the movement of the planet’s metallic core. The finding, reported today in Nature1, suggests
Torque and changes in the LOD An axial torque Γz acting on the mantle causes a change in its rotation rate (ΔΩm) according to $$Keep following us for the latest insights._Check back often for more exciting news!\frac{{\rm{d}}\Delta {\varOmega }_{{\rm{m}}}}{{\rm{d}}t}={\varGamma }_{z},$$ (1) in which Cm = 7.13 × 1037 kg m2 is the axial moment of inertia of the mantle. ΔΩm corresponds
For decades, Arctic sea ice has been melting earlier in spring and freezing later in fall, extending the melt season and contributing to widespread ice loss. A new NASA-led study has found that while the Arctic melt season has lengthened dramatically since satellite records began, that trend unexpectedly stabilized around 2010. The Arctic sea ice
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