Every day, Earth takes a little longer to spin. This change is very small, just fractions of a millisecond. However, the forces behind this change are enormous.
A new study says this change is the biggest in 3.6 million years. It happens because polar ice sheets and glaciers are melting due to climate change. When this ice melts, water moves from the poles into the oceans. This change makes the Earth rotate slower.
Scientists already knew climate change affects Earth’s spin. Now, researchers from the University of Vienna and ETH Zurich looked at the past. They found that today’s change has never happened before.
The exact length of a day is always changing. Forces like the Moon’s gravity can pull on Earth. Researchers found that climate change is now as strong as these forces. They studied tiny sea creatures called benthic foraminifera to find out how Earth’s spin has changed over millions of years.
By the end of this century, climate change will be the main cause of longer days, even more than the Moon’s gravity. This small change can affect GPS systems and weather patterns. Scientists are now looking at how other factors, like groundwater loss, will change Earth’s spin.
