Scientists have said that climate change and melting polar ice could affect the length of day on the planet.
< p>This information was reported by Space, reports URA-Inform.
According to them, humanity's impact on the climate and the associated melting of polar ice sheets is slowing the Earth's rotation.
Scientists have concluded that humanity is quickly waking up to the fact that it is time to take measures to reduce the consequences climate change is rapidly passing.
A new study led by University of California geologist Duncan Agnew suggests that melting ice in Greenland and Antarctica caused by global warming may be affecting the Earth's angular velocity.
Angular velocity is the speed at which our planet rotates. And so the length of the day continues, although the difference is so small that it is imperceptible to people, but noticeable to computers that rely on precise time.
« ;Global warming is already affecting global timekeeping», — says Duncan Agnew.
Currently, the exact time in the world is determined using 450 ultra-precise atomic clocks. This is necessary to maintain Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), which was first defined in 1969.
The traditional method of measuring time uses the rotation of the Earth. But because our planet's rotation rate fluctuates, since 1972 the addition of 27 “leap seconds” has been used to equalize between the two measurement methods. to the official time standard.
Melting ice is reducing the Earth's angular velocity faster than before, which may require a «negative leap second». Scientists note that the problem is that activities such as network computing and financial markets require the consistent, standardized and precise time scale provided by UTC, and adding a negative high second has never been tested before.
«The negative high second has never been added or tested, so the problems it can create are unprecedented», — the meteorologist notes.
They believe that eliminating the need for a negative altitude second from 2026 to 2029 could help meteorologists better calculate the Earth's rotation. This improved information will help better assess whether a negative leap second is really necessary when assessing the associated risks.
Recall that it was previously reported that a dust cloud from the Sahara is moving towards Ukraine: meteorologists have announced the date.