In search of the center of masses of the Earth

2007/06/18 Roa Zubia, Guillermo - Elhuyar Zientzia

• Geologia
• Astronomia

An effect of global warming on Earth is that polar ice is melting and that little by little the sea level is rising. It is calculated that every year it rises approximately two millimeters, but is the calculation correct? The answer will be possible thanks to a work done by a NASA geologist, who has worked on the definition of the mass center of the Earth, which ultimately allows to measure the level of the sea from the reference of this point. But the mass center of the Earth is not in a fixed place, but moves. So far, the LAGEOS satellite measures have been used to follow this movement, which emits a ray of light to the terrestrial surface and gathers what is reflected there. But this method, dependent on the tides and the atmosphere, does not provide great precisions. In this way, he has been able to calculate with great precision the position of the mass center of the Earth, as if there were no sea or atmosphere. ANDÉN.