Changes in the Earth’s core may be increasing the length of days

When we make our plans, we divide our schedules into daily cycles of 24 hours, or 86.4 thousand seconds, because this formula has been proven correct since ancient Mesopotamia, more than four thousand years ago. However, the ticking of the clock has slightly fluctuated over time.

In other words, Although our methods of measuring time have become increasingly precise, Earth’s day-night cycle is not the same.. Various studies have documented a long-term lengthening of days at an average rate of 1.72 milliseconds per 100 years since 720 BC, with a margin of error of ±0.03 seconds.

Although many of these gradual fluctuations in the length of the Earth day are known (such as the effects of tidal forces between the Earth and the Moon), Scientists have noticed small fluctuations on scales ranging from decades to millennia that they have not yet identified.

Understanding Fluctuation in Day Length

Recently, a team of geophysicists from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich) seems to have found the answer to this small discrepancy in the central region of our planet, or precisely in its molten iron core. Some minor changes This layer of liquid iron and nickel may be affecting Earth’s rotation.

The study, published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, explains that to understand how day length changes over time, the authors analyzed historical records of lunar eclipses and eclipses and used machine learning to identify complex patterns and make predictions based on available data. .

However, this operation is more complicated than it seems. To accurately determine the correct fluctuation, the authors had to “discount” all other known variations. These include changes in the volume of ice and water, the effects of the Moon’s gravitational pull, and deformations in the Earth’s crust caused by rotation and gravity.

The importance of studying the outer core of the Earth

In the absence of a comprehensive physical model that can take into account all components of core dynamics, what can be done is to “improve currently available models of the Earth’s core,” the authors say.

The results show that the impact of fluctuations in Earth’s ice and water bodies is much smaller than previously thought. Additionally, millennial oscillations on time scales The motion of liquid iron in the Earth’s outer core has been shown to be consistent with a simplified model of magnetohydrodynamics.

Emphasizing the importance of internal geodynamics in diurnal fluctuations, the authors conclude that we need to look much more closely at our planet if we want to discover these small effects that change our planet’s rotation.

Stay up to date with the latest studies about our planet at TecMundo. If you wish, you can take a look at 365-day satellite photographs showing seasonal changes on Earth.