Humans suck groundwater, causing the Earth's rotation to shift.

New research shows that humans are extracting so much groundwater that it is causing the planet's rotational poles to shift and sea levels to rise.

Simulation of Earth in space. Photo: iStock — Simulation of Earth in space. Photo: *iStock*

In a study published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters on June 15, the team of scientists found that the rotational pole (the position at which the Earth rotates) shifted about 79 centimeters to the east from 1993 to 2010 due to groundwater extraction. This also led to sea level rise.

The relative position of the Earth's rotational poles relative to the Earth's crust may be influenced by how water is distributed on the planet. "The Earth's rotational poles actually change a lot. Our study shows that, apart from climate-related causes, groundwater redistribution has the biggest impact on the pole shifts," said Ki-Weon Seo, a geophysicist at Seoul National University who led the study.

Scientists have known about the possibility of water altering Earth’s rotation since 2016, but they haven’t been clear about how much groundwater contributes to the change. In the new study, the team modeled the observed changes in the movement of the poles and water.

As a result, the model only matched the pole shift between 1993 and 2010 when accounting for the 2,150 billion tons of groundwater redistribution. "I was very happy to find the mysterious cause of the pole drift. On the other hand, as a resident of the Earth and a father, I was surprised and concerned to see that groundwater pumping was a cause of sea level rise," Seo said.

The figure of 2,150 billion tonnes, or about 0.6 cm of global sea level rise between 1993 and 2010, was derived from scientists’ previous estimates of groundwater pumping over the past 17 years. However, there was no direct observational evidence of that estimate. The model in the latest study – which takes into account the redistribution of water from groundwater sources to the ocean – provided independent confirmation of the estimate.

Groundwater depletion occurs when water is withdrawn from sources such as underground aquifers faster than it is replenished. Groundwater is often used for agricultural purposes and urban supplies. Once extracted, groundwater can enter the ocean through runoff or through evaporation and precipitation.

Thu Thao (According to Newsweek )

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