The study has been published by the journal Geophysical Research Letters, the journal of the American organization AGU. The location of the north and south poles is neither static nor immutable. The axis of the Earth, or the surface on which that invisible line comes out to be more accurate, is always in motion, because of processes that scientists don't fully understand. The way water is distributed across planet Earth influences this movement. The study, promoted by the Chinese university, analyzes the relationship between water and polar movement.

"Global warming caused glaciers to melt faster in 1990 and redistribute the water needed for polar displacement to shift eastward," said Chinese researcher Shanshan Deng, one of the authors of the study, published by the Geophysical Research Letters.

The scientist of Zurich vincent Humphrey explained that "the Earth revolves around its axis as a pawn." If the weight of the peonza is moved, the peonza will begin to tilt as its spinning axis varies. The same is true of Earth when its weight changes from one field to another.

What causes the movement of the poles?

Researchers have found that recent movements at the North Pole have been caused by several factors that have hindered their location. One of them is the changes in the accumulation of water on Earth: All the water on earth, including that frozen on glaciers and that accumulated in the subsoil beneath the continents, is being lost because underwater water melts and pumped.

The authors of this study believe that this loss of water has led to a change in the location of the poles in the last two decades. And they wanted to know if the changes that occurred in the 1990s were also related to this. In fact, in 1995 the displacement of the poles was modified from south to east. Between 1995 and 2020, the displacement of the poles has accelerated, up to 17 times faster than it did between 1981 and 1995.

Loss of glaciers and water pumping for agriculture

Suxia Liu, a hydrologist at the University of China, is another author of this study, which has been published recently. One of the conclusions has been that the loss of water in the poles has been the predominant factor in the movement of the poles.

However, the thaw of the poles has not meant a shift of the axis: the accumulation of water in areas outside the poles also has its effect, for example, the unsustainable pumping of groundwater for agriculture. Humphrey’s research has revealed significant changes in water mass in California, North Texas, North Beijing, and North India, where large amounts of water is pumped into agriculture.

What are the consequences for life?

Humphrey has pointed out: "We can see the force of changing the mass of water, enough to change the axis of the Earth." But he explained that this shift in focus is not enough to influence everyday life. It can vary the duration of the day, but only in milliseconds.