Dam in China holds back so much water it could affect Earth’s rotation

The world’s largest hydroelectric power plant, The Three Gorges Dam, built on the Yangtze River in China, may be affecting the Earth’s rotationIt stores an impressive 42 billion tonnes of water in its reservoir. Although scientific studies on the subject are still conflicting, some researchers believe the effect could be significant.

An epic work by the Chinese government, the dam was built between 1994 and 2009; A total of more than US$37 billion (R$180 billion) was consumed, forcing approximately 1.2 million people to relocate from the banks of the river. The environmental impact was also profound, 600 square kilometers of forest, agricultural land and archaeological sites were flooded..

But despite the obstacles, the dam became fully functional in July 2012, with the imposing 181 meters high and 2.33 km wide structure spanning the Chang Jiang River. In 2013, The dam achieved a world record by producing 98.8 terawatt-hours (TWh); this figure was surpassed only two years later by the Itaipu Hydroelectric Power Plant, which produced 103.1 TWh.

How does the Three Gorges Dam affect Earth’s rotation?

To understand how a dam can affect our planet’s rotation, we need to remember that: The concept called “moment of inertia” in physics is It measures the resistance of an object to changes in its angular velocity. The proposition says that the further the mass moves away from its axis, the greater the moment of inertia will be.

Therefore, it can be assumed that when the plant’s reservoir is filled with billions of tons of water above sea level, this mass can increase the Earth’s moment of inertia, causing the planet to rotate more slowly. This even means that the days are increasing in length.

What do scientists say?

According to scientists, these changes are insignificant on a global scale and are not capable of affecting either the climate or life on Earth. According to NASA experts, the Chinese dam reservoir increases the day by 0.06 microseconds, which is equivalent to 0.00000006 seconds or the impact of the lunar tide on Earth.

Besides, There is also the Chinese dam The potential to change the shape of the Earth and affect the poles of the planet is decreasing. This is because the amount of water stored in the massive reservoir exerts a significant centrifugal force on the Earth’s equator.

Experts say natural events such as earthquakes, large volcanic eruptions or climate changes can cause much more significant effects on the Earth’s moment of inertia than the dam, although they represent a small impact of human action in a global context.

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