Scientists have long been observing the shift of the geographic poles of the Earth. Recently, however, they have noticed that the North Pole is moving faster than usual. In addition, he changed the direction of his movement and began to shift to the east. /epochtimes.ru/
Scientists have been following the displacement of the North Pole for 115 years. Previously, it moved towards Canada at a rate of 7-8 centimeters per year. In total, during the observation period, the North Pole has shifted by 12 meters. However, NASA scientists noticed that in 2000 the pole changed course sharply and began to shift towards Great Britain. At the same time, its speed increased and amounted to 17 centimeters per year, which is two times higher than the previous one. "The change in the course of movement of the geographic poles since the 20th century is very significant," said Surendra Adhikari of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Is the drift caused by melting glaciers?
The study showed that the reason for the accelerating pole shift is the melting of glaciers in Greenland and in the western part of Antarctica, while the weight of the glaciers in its eastern part is increasing. Since 2003, Greenland has lost an average of over 272 trillion kg of ice per year, and West Antarctica has lost 124 trillion kg of ice per year. At the same time, East Antarctica is gaining 74 trillion kg of ice annually, which could not but affect the pole shift.
Photo: NASA
In addition, the amount of water in the region of the Caspian Sea and the Indian subcontinent decreased, which also affected the rate of displacement. Scientists have called this trend threatening. The researchers believe that this state of affairs has led to a warming climate. “This is just another interesting effect of climate change,” said Jianli Chen, a senior fellow at the University of Texas Space Research Center.
The melting of ice in Greenland lately is really going at a catastrophic speed. Therefore, the Greenland glaciers have recently become a special object of attention of scientists. The scale of this phenomenon was estimated using regular observations of the island's ice cap. Scientists believe that if all the ice in Greenland melts, it could raise the sea level by seven meters.
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The melting of glaciers, in turn, is associated with a warming climate. In recent years, the average annual temperature in Greenland has increased by one and a half degrees Celsius. According to climatologists from various organizations, 2015 is recognized as the warmest year in the history of meteorological observations. 2016 also sets warming records. Climatologists noted that this trend will continue.
Man is to blame
Scientists consider the anthropogenic factor to be one of the main causes of global warming. Chemical emissions from factories lead to high concentrations of carbon dioxide on the planet, which leads to the greenhouse effect. Thus, man himself leads our planet to a catastrophic state, which is fraught not only with warming, but also with a change of poles.
So far, NASA scientists are in no hurry to recognize such changes as problematic, equating pole drift with "another interesting effect of climate change." However, changes on the planet's surface, as it turned out, can seriously affect the rotation of the planet around its axis.
Photo: NASA
Some scientists believe that pole shifts have already occurred on our planet, leading to major disasters. In 1974, engineer and researcher Flavio Barbiero suggested that the pole shift took place 11 thousand years ago, and was reflected in the mythology of "the death of Atlantis and the continent of Mu". The scientist believes that the disappeared Atlantis should be looked for under the Antarctic ice sheet. In 1970-1980, the reporter Ruth Schick Montgomery published a series of books in which he linked all the cataclysms predicted by Edgar Cayce to the pole shift.
Be that as it may, in order to avoid cataclysms, a person needs to change his attitude towards our planet. This requires the use of environmentally friendly equipment in factories that reduces the amount of chemical emissions. It is also important to learn how to use solar and wind energy.