NASA scientists are tracking seasonal shifts in Earth’s center of mass, caused by the redistribution of water, ice, and air. Led by Donald Argus of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the team developed a new technique to calculate these movements with increased precision, crucial for satellite navigation and elevation measurements.
Earth’s center of mass isn’t fixed; it swivels around the planet’s geometric center by as much as several millimeters due to the weight of water, ice, and air shifting seasonally. Previous estimates, from 2017 and 2023, differed by 0.27 inches (7 millimeters), a significant margin considering the scale of the movement. The research, detailed in a new study published in Geophysical Journal International, aims to reduce this uncertainty.
Argus and his team improved upon existing methods by combining ultraprecise satellite tracking with GPS data from low Earth orbit satellites. They also accounted for how the weight of water and ice deforms Earth’s crust, impacting the location of ground stations. This builds on earlier work utilizing Laser Geodynamics Satellites (LAGEOS 1 and 2), launched in 1976 and 1992, which are tracked with laser precision from over 20 countries.
The new technique allows scientists to estimate the annual movement of Earth’s mass center with greater accuracy. The team included researchers from the University of Nevada, University of Montana, and the Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences in Germany.
Read the original coverage
💬 Comments
📜 Comment Policy