According to the International Earth Revolution and Reference Service Systems, on June 29, 2022, Earth made its quickest rotation ever, 1.59 milliseconds faster than the average rotation speed of 24 hours. This resulted in the shortest day since records began in the 1960s (IERS).
Our planet's rotation has accelerated before. The shortest day of 2020 occurred on July 19 when the Earth's rotation took 1.4602 milliseconds less than 24 hours. Earth continued to rotate at typically faster rates in 2021, but no records were broken. However, Earth has clocked some remarkable speeds this year. Following up on its speedy rotations in June, the planet had its second-fastest spin of the year on July 26, 2022, with a day that lasted 1.50 milliseconds less.
Why is Earth accelerating?
There are various theories, but no concrete evidence, as to why Earth is spinning more quickly. These are a few of the hypotheses:
1. Weight loss at the poles as a result of glacier melting
2. Tides in the ocean brought on by seismic activity
3. The gravitational pull of the Moon
4. The Earth is not exactly spherical, which causes a tiny variation in its rotational axis, known as the "Chandler wobble" effect.
What are the repercussions?
Atomic clocks, which are used in GPS satellites, may be impacted by the change in Earth's rotation since they will need to be synchronized with the seconds lost, claims Bizouard.
Potential repercussions could also be felt by computer and smartphone communications systems that synchronize with Network Time Protocol servers.
If the tendency accelerates, a negative leap second will be needed to bring the clocks into alignment.
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