In a significant development, melting polar ice caps, largely attributed to human-induced climate change, are causing a slight slowdown in the Earth's rotation. This phenomenon could potentially disrupt global timekeeping systems, a study published in the journal Nature informed.
Geophysicist Duncan Agnew, from the Institute of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego, is the author of the study. He highlights that the melting of ice in Greenland and Antarctica is altering the distribution of the Earth's mass, shifting the center of gravity. This, in turn, influences the angular velocity of the Earth's rotation.
The concept of a negative leap second, however, is unprecedented and poses a significant challenge to global timekeeping infrastructure. As Agnew states,
"This has never happened before and poses a major challenge to ensuring that all parts of the global timing infrastructure show the same time."
Previously, changes in the planet's liquid core had resulted in a slight acceleration in the Earth's rotation, prompting timekeepers to plan the elimination of a second in 2026 for the first time in history. However, Agnew's research indicates that the adjustment may need to be postponed by three years.
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