Climate Change May Be Causing Earth’s Poles To Shift

The position of Earth’s axis has dramatically shifted, likely because of melting ice sheets (fueled by climate change) and natural changes in water storage on land, according to a new study in the journal Science Advances.

Erik Ivins, senior research scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and co-author of the study published on Friday, told The Huffington Post that the movement of water on Earth’s surface affects the planet’s distribution of mass — and its axis — much like adding weight to a spinning top.

Makes perfect sense, and the changes in the location/distribution of water and ice masses over the Earth's history may help to explain some of the more curious findings of tropical plant/animal remnants being discovered in more frigid (currently) regions of the planet.

Scientists have long known that Earth tends to wobble as it spins, causing its poles to drift slightly. However, a dramatic shift occurred around the year 2000, when the North Pole turned east. In an attempt to understand why, Ivins and his colleague Surendra Adhikari analyzed space geodetic and satellite gravimetric data from 2003 to 2015. This data allowed the researchers to unambiguously identify the causal mechanism for the Earth’s drifting poles after 2003.

But...here is where it goes a little off-the-rails for me. They then jump to...

Jonathan Overpeck, professor of geosciences at the University of Arizona, who was not involved with the study, told The Guardian that “this highlights how real and profoundly large an impact humans are having on the planet.”

So, we go from good and solid geophysical evidence and conclusions - to, therefore, humans are responsible.

Well, if and only if, Climate Change is in fact predominately caused by human actions...which, the so-called consensus aside, is still open for debate...and does not explain why previous pole shifts/progressions occurred (before man's ability to influence much of anything technologically).

Pole Shift in Progress

a reply to: mobiusmale

I thought the earth's core decided where the poles were. I must be far, far behind on my education lol.

The polar ice pack is larger than it was in 1979 right now.....
Is it possible that a resurgence in the pack is throwing a bigger monkey wrench into our earths motions....
I kind of doubt it....

a reply to: mobiusmale

The position of Earth’s axis has dramatically shifted, likely because of melting ice sheets (fueled by climate change) and natural changes in water storage on land, according to a new study in the journal Science Advances.

Even amateur astronomers know that Polaris hasn't shifted in the night sky "dramatically" .

I'd link to the science of that, its overwhelming, but whomever claims that "Earths axis has dramatically shifted" doesn't care about science, just "Change".

originally posted by: BelowLowAnnouncement
a reply to: mobiusmale

I thought the earth's core decided where the poles were. I must be far, far behind on my education lol.

The strength, and directions, of the movement of the Earth's molten core have a direct influence on the location (and migration) of the Earth's magnetic polls.

The rotation about the Earth's polar axis would certainly have an impact on these internal currents...so these two polar mechanisms are, I would say, related in some ways, but different.

Dont want to be that guy (as some say) due to I find this a most "unusual topic" - but already posted

Earth Is Tipping Because of Climate Change

a reply to: mobiusmale

The earth's poles shift around every 200,000 to 300,000 years.. which means they've shifted quite a few times already, this is nothing new.. it's actually been considerably longer than that since they last shifted, so we're well over due for a pole shift actually.. The last one happened around 800,000 years ago.

The science shows that magnetic pole reversal is – in terms of geologic time scales – a common occurrence that happens gradually over millennia. While the conditions that cause polarity reversals are not entirely predictable – the north pole's movement could subtly change direction, for instance – there is nothing in the millions of years of geologic record to suggest that any of the 2012 doomsday scenarios connected to a pole reversal should be taken seriously. A reversal might, however, be good business for magnetic compass manufacturers.

Source: www.nasa.gov...

a reply to: mobiusmale

Well, higher taxes have shown to correct/adjust the iron core of the planet.

originally posted by: bandersnatch
The polar ice pack is larger than it was in 1979 right now.....
Is it possible that a resurgence in the pack is throwing a bigger monkey wrench into our earths motions....
I kind of doubt it....

It is larger in ~extent~, but much reduced in mass.

It looks like there is more, but it's much much thinner.

20k years ago when Manhattan was under a mile thick glacier must have also had an impact on the wobble of the planet.

a reply to: mobiusmale

Makes perfect sense, and the changes in the location/distribution of water and ice masses over the Earth's history may help to explain some of the more curious findings of tropical plant/animal remnants being discovered in more frigid (currently) regions of the planet.

So let me understand this. Even though science shows it has already happened before, THIS TIME we are the cause? Yeah I buy that.....Oh that's what we have to believe in order to pay the carbon taxes. Gotcha

Strangest thing I ever heard. So that is why polish people fall off the bar stools when they get drunk?

originally posted by: Martin75
a reply to: mobiusmale

Makes perfect sense, and the changes in the location/distribution of water and ice masses over the Earth's history may help to explain some of the more curious findings of tropical plant/animal remnants being discovered in more frigid (currently) regions of the planet.

So let me understand this. Even though science shows it has already happened before, THIS TIME we are the cause?

Yes, of course. Because never before was any of that fossilized carbon, safely sequestered throughout all the ice ages and interglacials, in the atmosphere.

When something input is different, the output is different. The paleohistory gives the ranges of possibilities and suggests climate feedbacks and feedfowards. A little bit, but mostly the prediction is based on physics.

Yeah I buy that.....Oh that's what we have to believe in order to pay the carbon taxes. Gotcha

The next thing you know, one of the near neighbor stars will supernova or the sun will fire off a killshot level solar flare at us, and the last thing we'll hear before we fry is GLOBAL WARMING DID IT!

YouTube suspiciousobservers

Go on. I dare you to be more scientifically knowledgeable.

Climate change effects the pole shift? Pfft. Go on the SO forums and say that where people who know what they are talking about hang out and discuss actual science.

The poles are going to shift, as they have many times in the past. The climate change is a result of this pole shift, not the cause of it.

I think the Guy the OP was talking about may have it backward, Instead of Climate Change causing Pole Drift, it should be Pole Drift Causes Climate Change...

Then all the science falls into place.

But then the whole we got to tax you for it falls apart.

a reply to: mobiusmale

It's the other way around but hey..why ruin a good story.

I've never bought into the whole man made climate change thing.

Something is changing though, these past few years have been horrendous in the UK for persistent rain and flooding.

The jet stream, which normally passes up over the UK is now travelling right over the middle of it bringing all the precipitation from the Atlantic.

If the amount of freshwater from melting ice is causing this, then so be it.....but it's more likely to be a normal part of the process than something man has done......just my opinion.

a reply to: Mrgone

I dig suspicious observers, I dig what Ben and them are up to. I watch the channel daily. But a lot of the main topics are very much on the fringe, you may be attacked for daring people to be more scientifically knowledgeable!

I reckon it's parts and parcels, sounds hippy-trippy, but all affects to cause all effects; milankovitch cycles, the Suns cycles, solar storms and cosmic rays, the seeming magnetic relationship between the Earth and the Sun, the glacials and interglacials, tectonic movement, changing currents of waters and airs...
I think it's fairly weak to suggest that climate change is causing the pole's to shift, but there will be certain factors of climate change that affect the poles, just as there are certain factors about the poles shifting that can affect the climate.
The point I'm trying to make is that it all works together.
Which is why I dig Suspicious Observers.
They are asking questions and positing fairly unique ideas and attempting to find correlations between different fields of science. It doesn't matter to me if they are right or wrong, I'm glad that they are thinking out of the box and that they aren't quiet about it. We need to ask all the questions! Explore all the possibilities!
Reminds me of that quote about Edison trying to build a light-bulb and finding all the ways not to make one!