Earth isn’t standing as straight as it used to—something has actually made our planet tilt, and it’s not great news. Scientists say that massive amounts of groundwater being pumped from beneath the surface have shifted Earth’s axis. Basically, we’ve moved so much water that it’s actually messing with the planet’s balance, like a wobbly spinning top. This could have serious effects on climate patterns, sea levels, and even how we track time. While the shift isn’t something we’d notice in daily life, over time, it could change weather and seasons in unexpected ways. So, next time you hear about excessive groundwater use, just remember—it’s literally changing the way Earth spins! Credit:
This is part of the 2020 China floods: By China News Service, CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ , https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2020%E4%B8%89%E5%B3%A1%E6%B0%B4%E5%BA%93%E4%BB%8A%E5%B9%B4%E9%A6%96%E6%AC%A1%E5%BC%80%E9%97%B8%E6%B3%84%E6%B4%AA.webm
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Wrecks and ruins after the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake: By Banzai Hiroaki, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wrecks_and_ruins_after_the_2011_T%C5%8Dhoku_earthquake_20110617_12.jpg
UKISAR in 2011 Japan earthquake 11 House turned upside-down by the force of tsunami: By DFID - UK Department for International Development, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:UKISAR_in_2011_Japan_earthquake_11_House_turned_upside-down_by_the_force_of_tsunami.jpg
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This is part of the 2020 China floods: By China News Service, CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ , https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2020%E4%B8%89%E5%B3%A1%E6%B0%B4%E5%BA%93%E4%BB%8A%E5%B9%B4%E9%A6%96%E6%AC%A1%E5%BC%80%E9%97%B8%E6%B3%84%E6%B4%AA.webm
CC BY 2.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/ :
Wrecks and ruins after the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake: By Banzai Hiroaki, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wrecks_and_ruins_after_the_2011_T%C5%8Dhoku_earthquake_20110617_12.jpg
UKISAR in 2011 Japan earthquake 11 House turned upside-down by the force of tsunami: By DFID - UK Department for International Development, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:UKISAR_in_2011_Japan_earthquake_11_House_turned_upside-down_by_the_force_of_tsunami.jpg
Animation is created by Bright Side.
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Check our Bright Side podcast on Spotify and leave a positive review! https://open.spotify.com/show/0hUkPxD34jRLrMrJux4VxV
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FunTranscript
00:00Doctor, I can't understand what's going on.
00:03I feel dizzy and, ugh, how do I say it, I'm tilted.
00:08It didn't happen overnight, like, I didn't wake up and couldn't stand straight.
00:12No, one day, I felt that my axis had shifted by 1 inch.
00:17Another day it was 2 inches.
00:19And once, you won't believe it, it was 31.5 inches!
00:24That's alarming!
00:25What if I accidentally turned upside down and all my inhabitants fall off my surface?
00:30Ah, dear Earth, we ran some tests and are ready to explain an unfortunate combination
00:36of factors that has affected your axis.
00:38The last one will perhaps be the most unexpected and upsetting.
00:43It all started back in March 2011, when a devastating magnitude 9 earthquake struck
00:49off the coast of Japan.
00:51It was so powerful that not only did it shift Earth's axis, but it also shortened the
00:56length of the day.
00:59This earthquake displaced our planet's axis by approximately 6.5 inches and may have moved
01:04Japan's main island by about 8 feet.
01:09Like other similarly massive earthquakes, it also altered Earth's rotation speed.
01:14To make it easier, let's compare it to a spinning ice skater.
01:19When a skater pulls their arms close to their body, they spin faster by concentrating their
01:23mass near the axis of rotation.
01:27Something similar happens during the most powerful earthquakes.
01:30They shift Earth's mass closer to its rotational axis, causing it to spin faster and shortening
01:37the day length.
01:38The calculations showed that the Japanese earthquake sped up Earth's rotation by about
01:431.8 microseconds, which is about 1.8 millionths of a second.
01:49Not a big deal, but at the end of the day, every nanosecond counts.
01:55For comparison, the infamous Indonesian earthquake shortened the length of a day by 2.68 microseconds.
02:03It struck on December 26, 2004, at 058 UTC.
02:09The epicenter lay off the western coast of northern Sumatra, Indonesia.
02:14This powerful undersea earthquake triggered devastating tsunamis that swept across the
02:19Indian Ocean, causing widespread destruction and immense loss of life in countries like
02:25Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, and Thailand.
02:29Even coastal areas as far as East Africa had severe damage.
02:34The Earth's magnitude, initially recorded at 9.0 on the Richter scale, was later adjusted
02:41to between 9.1 and 9.3, making it the most powerful earthquake ever recorded in Asia.
02:49The faulted, that's when Earth's crust completely breaks and its parts slide past
02:54each other, lasted between 500 and 600 seconds, and it was the longest duration ever observed.
03:02The immense force of the quake caused the entire planet to vibrate by at least half
03:07an inch and triggered other earthquakes as far away as Alaska.
03:12All that immense energy the earthquake released caused subtle, but quite measurable changes
03:18to Earth.
03:19The shift in mass slightly changed the planet's rotation, shortening the day.
03:24It also caused a small wobble in Earth's axis, from 1 to 2.4 inches, toward 145-degree
03:32east longitude.
03:34So when it comes to changes in Earth's rotation speed and axis, it's all about the redistribution
03:40of mass.
03:42This can happen naturally, through disasters, but human activities can also trigger it.
03:49Take the Three Georges Dam for instance.
03:52This massive structure across the Yangtze River in China's Hubei province may seem
03:57to be an engineering triumph, but it's pretty ambiguous.
04:02Finished in 2012 after nearly 20 years, this massive dam is 7,660 feet long and 607 feet
04:11high.
04:12And yes, and yes, it is so big that it can affect the way our planet spins.
04:19Its reservoir is capable of holding 9.5 cubic miles of water, has enough mass to slightly
04:26alter the Earth's rotational inertia, slightly slowing the planet's rotation.
04:32According to NASA, the Three Georges Dam reservoir could shift Earth's pole position by almost
04:381 inch and increase the length of a day by 0.06 microseconds.
04:45Dams aren't the only worry.
04:47If polar ice melts, water rushes into the oceans, hiking up sea levels, especially near
04:52the equator.
04:54This mass shift slows Earth's spin way more than dams do.
04:58You won't feel it day to day, but it can affect ultra-precise equipment, such as atomic
05:03clocks.
05:05To fix this, scientists suggested a negative leap second, making a minute 59 seconds, to
05:11balance Earth's spin changes.
05:14Ok, so you're thinking you've got nothing to do with all those tilts.
05:20You don't build dams, right?
05:22Good news, if you take regular showers, you're part of it too!
05:27Every time you turn on the tap, you're affecting Earth's tilt just a tiny bit.
05:32Thing is, our planet is always shifting and adapting, so even small actions like using
05:38water can influence its orientation.
05:41Over the past two decades, groundwater pumping has caused the Earth's tilt to shift by 31.5
05:48inches.
05:49This water redistribution is equal to about 0.24 inches of sea level rise.
05:56It turns out that among climate-related causes, groundwater redistribution has the largest
06:01impact on the drift of Earth's rotational pull.
06:06But what is groundwater?
06:08It's the water stored beneath the Earth's surface, filling the spaces in soil, sand,
06:13and rock.
06:15It comes from rain and other precipitation that seeps into the ground, collecting in
06:19underground reservoirs, aquifers.
06:23Unlike rivers and lakes, groundwater stays below the surface, acting like a natural water
06:28reserve.
06:29Thanks to it, we have a steady supply even during dry periods.
06:34Many people, especially in rural areas, rely on groundwater as their main source of drinking
06:40water.
06:41Farmers use it to irrigate crops, while industries depend on it for manufacturing and cooling
06:46systems.
06:48It sounds pretty harmless, doesn't it?
06:50How can something so useful cause our planet to shift?
06:53Well, a study covering data from 1993 to 2010 revealed that we've pumped about 2,150 gigatons
07:02of groundwater in that time.
07:05And this large-scale water removal has shifted the Earth's tilt and rotation.
07:11After we use groundwater, much of it eventually flows into the oceans, contributing to rising
07:17sea levels.
07:19In areas like western North America and northwestern India, people use a lot of groundwater, and
07:26it may have a connection to these shifts.
07:28Yikes, let's face it, all these findings are rather disturbing.
07:34But you know, understanding the impact of groundwater use is already a huge step in
07:39the right direction.
07:40Hey, I'm not done yet!
07:43This tilting issue isn't just about stuff happening on Earth.
07:46We also need to look at space.
07:49We've talked a lot about water, right?
07:52Well you know that the Moon has a big role in that.
07:55Its gravity is super important for forming tides and all that.
07:59So one more thing that affects our planet a lot is the gradual movement of the Moon
08:04away from Earth.
08:07These two bodies interact gravitationally, which makes Earth's rotation slow over time,
08:12even though significant events like earthquakes occasionally speed it up temporarily.
08:18How did we figure it out?
08:20Glad you asked!
08:22Once someone paid attention to ancient corals.
08:26After analyzing them, scientists realized that Earth had once rotated much faster.
08:32The thing is, corals grow by laying down thin layers of calcium carbonate.
08:37They do it daily, and variations reflect seasonal changes.
08:42By counting these layers, scientists have calculated the number of days in a year millions
08:47of years ago.
08:49They found that Earth had about 420 days per year 444 to 419 million years ago.
08:58But over time, the Moon's influence had caused Earth's rotation to slow.
09:03And now we only have 365 days in a year.
09:08I feel robbed, you know?
09:11At the moment, the Moon is moving 1.5 inches away from Earth each year.
09:16That's about the same speed at which your fingernails grow.
09:20Astronomers have figured it out with the help of special mirrors placed on the Moon during
09:24the Apollo missions.
09:26For over 50 years, researchers have been sending laser beams to these mirrors and measuring
09:32the time it took for the light to bounce back.
09:35In any case, dear Earth, at the moment, your condition isn't critical.
09:40As for your inhabitants, they won't fall off your surface.
09:44All thanks to your gravity, pulling them toward your center.
09:47Just don't switch it off, and everything's gonna be fine!
09:51That's it for today!
09:52So hey, if you pacified your curiosity, then give the video a like and share it with your
09:56friends!
09:57Or if you want more, just click on these videos and stay on the Bright Side!