New research shows that climate change and melting polar ice caps are affecting the length of the Earth day; We will need to rethink standards.
The climate crisis is looming, and humanity is rapidly waking up to the fact that time is literally running out to take action to mitigate the effects of the boiling Earth. The irony, Space writes, is that climate change, driven largely by human activities, is delaying the climate crisis by changing the length of Earth’s day.
Today, scientists keep official time by relying on approximately 450 ultra-precise atomic clocks to help maintain Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), which was first defined in 1969. However, the more traditional historical method of measuring time uses the Earth’s rotation.
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At the same time, the Earth’s rotation fluctuates, and since 1972 scientists have maintained consistency between these two measurements by adding 27 “leap seconds” to the official time standard.
But a new study led by University of California geologist Duncan Agnew suggests that melting glaciers in Greenland and Antarctica caused by global warming is affecting the Earth’s angular velocity. As a result of this effect on the planet’s speed, Earth’s day becomes longer; This is a very small and imperceptible change for humans, but not for computers that rely on precise timekeeping.
The study’s authors concluded that melting glaciers around the world are already affecting global timekeeping. In fact, the loss of glaciers is reducing the Earth’s angular velocity faster than before; this may ultimately require a “negative leap second”.
According to Patricia Tavella, a meteorologist in the time division of the International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM), the negative leap second has never been added or tested by scientists before, and so it is unknown what problems it might be associated with.
The truth is that network computing and financial markets rely on the consistent, standardized and accurate time scale that UTC provides. At the same time, the addition of a negative leap second has never been tested before and therefore threatens such activities.
Some scientists believe that eliminating the need for negative leap seconds from 2026 to 2029 will allow meteorologists to better calculate the Earth’s rotation. Ultimately, this information will help more effectively evaluate whether negative leap seconds are actually necessary when evaluating relevant claims.
Remember that our planet’s rotation rate is always fluctuating. However, before the introduction of accurate timekeeping and technology, the only detrimental effect was that the timing of eclipses and other astronomical events changed compared to researchers’ old records.
According to Jerry Mitrovica of Harvard University’s Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, the change in our planet’s rotation on a millennial scale reflects the influence of three geophysical processes. One of these is the connection between the Earth’s core and its outer rocky mantle and crust.
In simple terms, any change in the angular momentum of the core must be balanced by a change of the same magnitude: If the core slows down to maintain the planet’s steady rotation, the outer parts of the Earth must accelerate by the same amount. But both the core and the upper layers of the planet are losing angular momentum.
In the past, this core-mantle connection caused the Earth’s rotation period to increase by 6 millionths of a second per year. For a person, such a change in speed would be almost imperceptible, but it is felt by atomic clocks.
In a new study, scientists turned to satellite gravity data to determine the decrease in Earth’s angular momentum and its impact on timekeeping. This showed that the increased melting of glaciers in Greenland and Antarctica was changing the mass distribution on our planet’s surface, leading to a more rapid decline in the angular velocity of the Earth’s solid outer layers. At the same time, the angular velocity of the Earth’s liquid core continues to decrease.
The team believes negative leap seconds probably won’t be needed until 2029. However, scientists believe that this change creates a problem for computer network time synchronization, requiring changes to match UTC with the Earth’s rotation.
Previously Focus He wrote that astronomers have discovered a new Saturn at the temperature of Venus.
Source: Focus
Ashley Fitzgerald is an accomplished journalist in the field of technology. She currently works as a writer at 24 news breaker. With a deep understanding of the latest technology developments, Ashley’s writing provides readers with insightful analysis and unique perspectives on the industry.