Melting ice caps are slowing Earth’s rotation, shifting how we measure time

A view of melting sea ice in the Arctic ocean. A study that came out March 27, 2024 in Nature found that melting sea ice is slowing down the rotation of the Earth.Ever wished you could get a second of your life back? Well, that could one day be a reality. And no — we’re not talking about time travel.

“This has never happened before, and poses a major challenge to making sure that all parts of the global timing infrastructure show the same time,” Agnew said.Earth has been barrelling towards the need for a negative leap second for decades. But Agnew found that the slowing effect of ice melting at Earth’s poles have counteracted this burst of speed and likely delayed this global second of reckoning by about three years, he calculated.

In 1967, timekeepers introduced the atomic clock as a means to accurately define the second, based on the oscillations of caesium particles as they emit radiation. As one can imagine, this quantum process is a lot more consistent than the movements of a five-septillion-kilogram ball barrelling through space.

This is happening because the Earth’s core is molten liquid and has currents that cause it to rotate. Agnew states that, since the 1970s, the rotation of the core has been steadily slowing down, which causes the solid Earth around it to speed up.B.C. man makes history as 1st Canadian to finish, win ‘insane’ Barkley Marathons

The core has been ramping up towards acceleration for about 50 years, since 1972, Agnew said. But the rapid melting of ice at the poles since 1990 has masked that effect.Without the effect of melting ice, Earth would need that negative leap second in 2026 instead of 2029.For decades, astronomers had been keeping universal and astronomical time together with those handy little leap seconds.

Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

Seoul says North Korea fires missile toward the North's eastern watersSEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea fired a ballistic missile toward its eastern waters Monday morning, the South Korean military said, days after the end of the South Korean-U.S. military drills that the North views as an invasion rehearsal.
Source: PGCitizen - 🏆 65. / 51 Read more »

Seoul says North Korea fires missile toward the North’s eastern watersThe launch comes days after the U.S. and South Korean militaries ended their annual military drills that the North views as an invasion rehearsal
Source: globeandmail - 🏆 5. / 92 Read more »

Seoul says North Korea fires missile toward the North's eastern watersSEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea fired a ballistic missile toward the North’s east coast Monday morning, the South Korean military said, days after the end of the South Korean-U.S. military drills that the North views as an invasion rehearsal.
Source: BurnabyNOW_News - 🏆 14. / 77 Read more »

Seoul says North Korea fires missile toward the North's eastern watersSEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea fired a ballistic missile toward the North’s east coast Monday morning, the South Korean military said, days after the end of the South Korean-U.S. military drills that the North views as an invasion rehearsal.
Source: SooToday - 🏆 8. / 85 Read more »

Seoul says North Korea fires missile toward the North's eastern watersSEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea fired a ballistic missile toward the North’s east coast Monday morning, the South Korean military said, days after the end of the South Korean-U.S. military drills that the North views as an invasion rehearsal.
Source: PGCitizen - 🏆 65. / 51 Read more »

South Carolina rolls to the Sweet 16 88-41 over North CarolinaSouth Carolina within four victories of a perfect championship season
Source: globeandmail - 🏆 5. / 92 Read more »