Earth’s 6-year twitch alters day length
LONDON:
Periodic jumps generated in the Earth's core change the length of a day
every 5.9 years on our planet, a new study has found.
Researchers at the University of Liverpool in the United Kingdom studied the variations and fluctuations in the length of day over a one to 10 year period between 1962 and 2012.
They found that variations in the length of day over periods of between one and 10 years are caused by processes in the Earth's core. The Earth rotates once per day, but the length of this day varies. A year, 300 million years ago, lasted about 450 days and a day would last about 21 hours, researchers said.
As a result of the slowing down of the Earth's rotation the length of day has increased.
The rotation of the Earth on its axis, however, is affected by a number of other factors — for example, the force of the wind against mountain ranges changes the length of the day by plus or minus a millisecond over a period of a year.
Professor Richard Holme, from the School of Environmental Sciences studied the variations and fluctuations in the length of day over a one to 10 year period between 1962 and 2012.
The study took account of the effects on Earth's rotation of atmospheric and oceanic processes to produce a model of variations in the length of day on time scales longer than a year.
Researchers at the University of Liverpool in the United Kingdom studied the variations and fluctuations in the length of day over a one to 10 year period between 1962 and 2012.
They found that variations in the length of day over periods of between one and 10 years are caused by processes in the Earth's core. The Earth rotates once per day, but the length of this day varies. A year, 300 million years ago, lasted about 450 days and a day would last about 21 hours, researchers said.
As a result of the slowing down of the Earth's rotation the length of day has increased.
The rotation of the Earth on its axis, however, is affected by a number of other factors — for example, the force of the wind against mountain ranges changes the length of the day by plus or minus a millisecond over a period of a year.
Professor Richard Holme, from the School of Environmental Sciences studied the variations and fluctuations in the length of day over a one to 10 year period between 1962 and 2012.
The study took account of the effects on Earth's rotation of atmospheric and oceanic processes to produce a model of variations in the length of day on time scales longer than a year.
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