Over the last decade, scientists have been trying to figure out why the shape of the Earth and it's gravity field have changed. The reasoning behind the shift is due to global warming of course. The melting of the sub-polar ice and the redistribution of mass away from the poles has caused a bulging around the equator creating an oblated shpere shape. The picture demonstrates the differences in the historical shape of the planet and the current oblateness that it has now.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
The Changing Shape of the Earth
Over the last decade, scientists have been trying to figure out why the shape of the Earth and it's gravity field have changed. The reasoning behind the shift is due to global warming of course. The melting of the sub-polar ice and the redistribution of mass away from the poles has caused a bulging around the equator creating an oblated shpere shape. The picture demonstrates the differences in the historical shape of the planet and the current oblateness that it has now.
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