Last Update: 04/05/2026 at 2:50 PM EST
Climate Change Slows Earth's Rotation
Coverage from Phys, Astronomy Magazine, and others
Articles
4
Latest Article
03/31
Active Days
20
Executive Summary
Researchers say ice melt and rising seas are lengthening Earths day at an unprecedented rate over 3.6 million years
- Climate-driven ice melt and rising seas are slowing Earth's rotation and lengthening the day by milliseconds per century
- Researchers estimate the modern rate at about 1.33 milliseconds per century
- The reconstruction spans the past 3.6 million years, including the Quaternary and late Pliocene
- The study uses fossil benthic foraminifera and a physics-informed diffusion model to infer past sea-level and day-length changes
- The modern increase in day length has no clear precedent in the reconstructed record
- Scientists say the change is far too small to notice daily but could matter for GPS and space navigation
- A separate climate study links warming-driven atmospheric circulation changes to additional small day-length increases by late century
Quick Facts
- What: Climate-driven ice melt is lengthening Earth's day
- Where: Global Earth system with paleoclimate records
- Why: Melting ice redistributes mass and slows Earth's rotation
- Who: University of Vienna and ETH Zurich researchers
- When: Current rate compared with the past 3.6 million years
Coverage Timeline: 20 Days
Featured Article
Researchers reported March 10 in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth that human-driven ice-sheet melt is producing an unprecedented day-length increase over at least 3.6 million years.
Additional Articles
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University of Vienna and ETH Zurich researchers report climate driven day length lengthening of 1.33 milliseconds per century in a 2026 study.
Climate model simulations under a high-emission scenario project warming-driven atmospheric changes will measurably alter Earth rotation variability by late 21st century.
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Kiani Shahvandi and Soja report a Late Pliocene length-of-day reconstruction showing modern Earth day-length increase rates are exceptionally high and likely anthropogenically driven.