Climate Change Is Literally Causing Earth’s Poles To Shift

[CanonRay]

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.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/earth-poles-climate-change_us_5706c52ee4b0537661892db4

[2naSalit]

1. Partly maybe

One also need consider the actual shifting of land masses, like the devastating earthquakes off the coast of Japan and the one off the coast of Thailand in the past 15 years as well as some serious magnet/solar storms that have an affect on the polar shifts as well. After the Thai/Indian Ocean earthquake in 2004 there were report that the earth had tilted or that it contributed to the "wobble" to a noticeable extent.

It's never just one thing, the climate aspect could be a small feedback loop in the mix but I would be seriously reluctant to blame just one possibility.

[Jack Bone]

2. I've thought this since...

the aurora borealis came into view here in Indy-freakin'-ana.

move along...nuthin' to see here

[saturnsring]

3. or is it the pole shift that is causing the climate change. there have been many pole shifts

[ChisolmTrailDem]

4. If that's true, wouldn't it have an effect on astronomical observations and...

...astronomy and telescope tracking software?

[Wounded Bear]

5. Meh, probably just a correction...

for the shifts we caused by holding so much water high in the mountains in reservoirs.

http://www.nytimes.com/1996/03/03/news/dams-for-water-supply-are-altering-earth-s-orbit-expert-says.html

[Brother Buzz]

6. The earth's axis has dramatically shifted a whopping 17cm a year

This is a grand testament to the cool scientific equipment used to make these measurements.

Robert Peary would have sold his frozen left nut for this equipment.