Science Source
Climate-driven polar motion: 2003–2015
- States Earth’s spin axis has been wandering along the Greenwich meridian since about 2000, representing a 75° eastward shift from its long-term drift direction
- States the past 115 years have seen unequivocal evidence for a quasi-decadal periodicity, and these motions persist throughout the recent record of pole position, in spite of the new drift direction
- Analyzes space geodetic and satellite gravimetric data for the period 2003–2015 to show that all of the main features of polar motion are explained by global-scale continent-ocean mass transport
- Finds the changes in terrestrial water storage (TWS) and global cryosphere together explain nearly the entire amplitude (83 ± 23%) and mean directional shift (within 5.9° ± 7.6°) of the observed motion
- Finds that the TWS variability fully explains the decadal-like changes in polar motion observed during the study period, thus offering a clue to resolving the long-standing quest for determining the origins of decadal oscillations
- States this newly discovered link between polar motion and global-scale TWS variability has broad implications for the study of past and future climate
Related Content
Science Source
| Geophysical Research Letters
Observations reveal external driver for Arctic sea‐ice retreat
Dirk Notz, Jochem Marotzke
Science Source
| Weather and Climate Extremes
Drivers of 2016 record Arctic warmth assessed using climate simulations subjected to Factual and Counterfactual forcing
Lantao Sun, Dave Allured, Martin Hoerling et al
Headline

May 7, 2018 | NOAA Climate.gov
2016 Arctic heat would have been virtually impossible without global warming
Science Source
| Nature Geoscience
Attribution of polar warming to human influence
Nathan P. Gillett, Dáithí A. Stone, Peter A. Stott et al