The axis of planet Earth has tilted by 31.5 inches (80cms) and humans are seemingly responsible, according to a new study.
Scientists made the discovery whilst researching the impact of climate change and believe that it is as a result of the pumping of Earth’s groundwater by humans.
Groundwater is water present beneath the earth’s surface and is cheaper, more convenient and less vulnerable to pollution than surface water, meaning that it is regularly pumped to be used as drinking water.
But according to the researchers, the pumping of groundwater can change the planet’s rotation and even impact the rise of sea levels.
Ki-Weon Seo, a geophysicist at Seoul National University and study lead, said: “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.”
The extent of Earth’s tilt is influenced by the distribution of mass around the globe. As melting glaciers and polar ice caps see more water flow into the Earth’s seas, increased amounts of water flow towards the equator, thus altering the planet’s balance and weight distribution.
The latest study has looked at data spanning 17 years which shows that the pumping of around 2,150 gigatons of groundwater has caused a change in the Earth’s tilt of roughly 31.5 inches.
Seo added: “Observing changes in Earth’s rotational pole is useful for understanding continent-scale water storage variations. Linking these variations to water movement shows how everyday actions can impact the Earth on a global scale.”
“I’m very glad to find the unexplained cause of the rotation pole drift. On the other hand, as a resident of Earth and a father, I’m concerned and surprised that pumping groundwater is another source of sea-level rise.”
The research, which was published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters states: “Melting of polar ice sheets and mountain glaciers has been understood as a main cause of sea level rise associated with contemporary climate warming.
“It has been proposed that an important anthropogenic contribution is sea level rise due to groundwater depletion resulting from irrigation.
“A climate model estimate for the period 1993–2010 gives total groundwater depletion of 2,150GTon, equivalent to global sea level rise of 6.24mm.”
Surendra Adhikari, a research scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, said in response to the study: “They’ve quantified the role of groundwater pumping on polar motion, and it’s pretty significant.”