Ice melts, the North Pole shifted

Earth's ice sheets continue to melt rapidly turns lead to surprising effect. Not only raise sea levels, the results showed that the melting of ice in the polar regions could also make the North Pole moved closer to Greenland.

A true-color image taken on May 5, 2000, 
by an instrument aboard NASA's Terra 
spacecraft, over the North Pole, with sea 
ice shown in white and open water in black.  
(Picture from: http://www.livescience.com/)

Mass distribution across the planet to determine the position of the earth's poles. Because the earth is like an egg, the North Pole is not exactly in the middle, but always a little beside the point of the center. Long-term changes since the last Ice Age also makes the North Pole slowly shifting to the south.

The shift occurred because the stretch of ice that once covered most of the planet's surface melted. The weight of the loss making parts of the earth as if to soar.

But, in 2005, the pole suddenly started heading east towards Greenland, move a few centimeters each year to the east. The change in direction is due to the melting of the Greenland ice stretch very quickly. The results were published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters on May 13, 2013.

Associated ice loss on sea level rise is responsible for more than 90 percent of the polar shift. Melting ice masses move around it by adding water to the oceans and ease the burden on the earth's crust which is all covered with ice thick.

Although melting of global ice plays a role in the shift of the poles, Greenland is a major contributor to that cause poles move towards east. "Shifting glaciers in Greenland resulting in movement of the poles," said Clark Wilson, a researcher from the University of Texas, Austin.

Knowing the precise location of the North Pole has become a critical part of modern life. The Earth's Pole is the foundation of GPS, which guides us with mapping applications, as well as for military systems and planes. *** [EKA | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | LIVESCIENCE | TJANDRA DEWI | KORAN TEMPO 4231]
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