Using GRACE Data to Estimate Climate Change Impacts on the Earth’s Moment of Inertia
The widely used 15-year Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) measured mass redistribution shows an increasing trend in the nontidal Earth’s moment of inertia (MOI). Various contributing components are independently evaluated using five high-quality atmospheric reanalysis datasets and a no...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:5db8d68c37bd4472b0a4db5712569cb9 2023-05-15T13:34:19+02:00 Using GRACE Data to Estimate Climate Change Impacts on the Earth’s Moment of Inertia Diandong Ren Aixue Hu 2021-09-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2021.640304 https://doaj.org/article/5db8d68c37bd4472b0a4db5712569cb9 EN eng Frontiers Media S.A. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2021.640304/full https://doaj.org/toc/2296-6463 2296-6463 doi:10.3389/feart.2021.640304 https://doaj.org/article/5db8d68c37bd4472b0a4db5712569cb9 Frontiers in Earth Science, Vol 9 (2021) MOI change finger printing earth nontidal MOI enhanced hydrological cycle GRACE measurements climate warming cryosphere and climate change Science Q article 2021 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2021.640304 2022-12-31T12:50:39Z The widely used 15-year Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) measured mass redistribution shows an increasing trend in the nontidal Earth’s moment of inertia (MOI). Various contributing components are independently evaluated using five high-quality atmospheric reanalysis datasets and a novelty numerical modeling system. We found a steady, statistically robust (passed a two-tailed t-test at p = 0.04 for dof = 15) rate of MOI increase reaching ∼11.0 × 1027 kg m2/yr, equivalent to a 11.45 sμ/yr increase in the length of day, during 2002–2017. Further analysis suggests that the Antarctic ice sheet contributes the most, followed by the Greenland ice sheet, the precipitation-driven land hydrological cycle, mountain glaciers, and the fluctuation of atmosphere, in this order. Short-term MOI spikes from the GRACE measurements are mostly associated with major low/mid-latitude earthquakes, fitting closely with the MOI variations from the hydrological cycle. Atmospheric fluctuation contributes the least but has a steady trend of 0.5 sμ/yr, with horizontal mass distribution contributing twice as much as the vertical expansion and associated lift of the atmosphere’s center of mass. The latter is a previously overlooked term affecting MOI fluctuation. The contribution to the observed MOI trend from a warming climate likely will persist in the future, largely due to the continuous mass loss from the Earth’s ice sheets. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Greenland Ice Sheet Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Antarctic The Antarctic Greenland Frontiers in Earth Science 9 |
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Open Polar |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
MOI change finger printing earth nontidal MOI enhanced hydrological cycle GRACE measurements climate warming cryosphere and climate change Science Q |
spellingShingle |
MOI change finger printing earth nontidal MOI enhanced hydrological cycle GRACE measurements climate warming cryosphere and climate change Science Q Diandong Ren Aixue Hu Using GRACE Data to Estimate Climate Change Impacts on the Earth’s Moment of Inertia |
topic_facet |
MOI change finger printing earth nontidal MOI enhanced hydrological cycle GRACE measurements climate warming cryosphere and climate change Science Q |
description |
The widely used 15-year Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) measured mass redistribution shows an increasing trend in the nontidal Earth’s moment of inertia (MOI). Various contributing components are independently evaluated using five high-quality atmospheric reanalysis datasets and a novelty numerical modeling system. We found a steady, statistically robust (passed a two-tailed t-test at p = 0.04 for dof = 15) rate of MOI increase reaching ∼11.0 × 1027 kg m2/yr, equivalent to a 11.45 sμ/yr increase in the length of day, during 2002–2017. Further analysis suggests that the Antarctic ice sheet contributes the most, followed by the Greenland ice sheet, the precipitation-driven land hydrological cycle, mountain glaciers, and the fluctuation of atmosphere, in this order. Short-term MOI spikes from the GRACE measurements are mostly associated with major low/mid-latitude earthquakes, fitting closely with the MOI variations from the hydrological cycle. Atmospheric fluctuation contributes the least but has a steady trend of 0.5 sμ/yr, with horizontal mass distribution contributing twice as much as the vertical expansion and associated lift of the atmosphere’s center of mass. The latter is a previously overlooked term affecting MOI fluctuation. The contribution to the observed MOI trend from a warming climate likely will persist in the future, largely due to the continuous mass loss from the Earth’s ice sheets. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Diandong Ren Aixue Hu |
author_facet |
Diandong Ren Aixue Hu |
author_sort |
Diandong Ren |
title |
Using GRACE Data to Estimate Climate Change Impacts on the Earth’s Moment of Inertia |
title_short |
Using GRACE Data to Estimate Climate Change Impacts on the Earth’s Moment of Inertia |
title_full |
Using GRACE Data to Estimate Climate Change Impacts on the Earth’s Moment of Inertia |
title_fullStr |
Using GRACE Data to Estimate Climate Change Impacts on the Earth’s Moment of Inertia |
title_full_unstemmed |
Using GRACE Data to Estimate Climate Change Impacts on the Earth’s Moment of Inertia |
title_sort |
using grace data to estimate climate change impacts on the earth’s moment of inertia |
publisher |
Frontiers Media S.A. |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2021.640304 https://doaj.org/article/5db8d68c37bd4472b0a4db5712569cb9 |
geographic |
Antarctic The Antarctic Greenland |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic The Antarctic Greenland |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Greenland Ice Sheet |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Greenland Ice Sheet |
op_source |
Frontiers in Earth Science, Vol 9 (2021) |
op_relation |
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2021.640304/full https://doaj.org/toc/2296-6463 2296-6463 doi:10.3389/feart.2021.640304 https://doaj.org/article/5db8d68c37bd4472b0a4db5712569cb9 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2021.640304 |
container_title |
Frontiers in Earth Science |
container_volume |
9 |
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1766051592096710656 |