Earthquake In Chile May Have Made Day Shorter

The massive 8.8 earthquake could have caused a shift in the Earth’s axis, accounting for the 1.26 microsecond loss. The shift in the actual axis was around 8 centimeters, or 3 inches, according to the preliminary calculations done by NASA’s JPL.

JPL scientist, Richard Gross compared the actions of a skater drawing their arms and hands in tighter during a spin, increasing the velocity of the skaters spin. Gross also stated that the Chilean earthquakes effects on the earths axis were so pronounced due the mid-latitude location of the occurrence, unlike the 2004 Sumatran earthquake, which was near the equator.

There are other types of earthquakes that can occur, but a thrust type of earthquake is the only one that can affect the Earth’s rotation. With this type one of the geological plates slips underneath another one, this action is called subduction. In this instance the Nazca plate sank into the Earth’s interior.

Although the effects that will be felt from this will be minimal to the average individual, Kieth Sverdrup, a seismologist from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee said “that doesn’t mean that the effect isn’t real–though it is ephemeral.” The duration of this effect is impossible to determine at this time.