While heading towards the North Pole typically means going north, this might soon change, as a new study headed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) has revealed that climate change is changing the way that Earth wobbles on its polar axis, moving its North Pole towards England.
The study suggests that as global warming continues to affect the planet, melting ice sheets, particularly those in Greenland, alter the distribution of weight on Earth, causing both the North Pole and wobble - also known as polar motion - to shift course.
Scientists and navigators have regularly monitored Earth's true pole and polar motions since 1899, revealing a migration towards Canada for most of the 20th century. However, the new results suggest that climate change this century has led to a shift in course towards England.
"The recent shift from the 20th-century direction is very dramatic," said Surendra Adhikari, lead author of the study and a member of NASA's JPL.
Although most scientists agree that the shift is not a danger, many believe that it should still be noted.
Jonathan Overpeck, a professor of geosciences at the University of Arizona who wasn't involved in the study, said that the finding "highlights how real and profoundly large an impact humans are having on the planet."
How exactly is climate change affecting Earth's North Pole and polar motion?
Since 2003, Greenland has lost more than 272 trillion kilograms of ice each year, in turn altering the way that Earth wobbles on its axis. Eirk Ivins, a NASA scientists and co-author of the study, compares it to when a figure skater lifts one leg into the air while spinning.
Another factor lies in West Antarctica, which loses 124 trillion kilograms of ice each year, and East Antarctica, which loses around 74 trillion kilograms per year. Each of these losses exacerbate the wobble. Adhikari noted that this process pulls polar motion toward the east.
Despite these unique changes, Jianli Chen, a research scientist from the University of Texas' Center for Space Research who first connected the pole shift to climate change back in 2013, doesn't believe that we have anything to fear.
"There is nothing to worry about," said Chen, who wasn't involved in the current study. "It is just another interesting effect of climate change."
The findings were published in the April 8 issue of the journal Science Advances.
