Climate change alters the shape of our planet.
Polar ice melt raises the poles and shrinks the equatorial bulge, while shifting ocean mass causes net flattening.
Key points
From Live Science’s report- New research shows Earth’s shape is rounding faster due to polar ice melt.
- Poles are rising and the equator's bulge is shrinking by about 1 mm per year between 2011 and 2015.
- Overall, solid Earth rounding accelerates by roughly 0.4 mm per year each decade.
- Ocean mass shift toward the equator counteracts solid Earth rounding, making net flattening occur.
- GNSS data and gravity measurements are used together to track changes in Earth’s shape.
Why it matters. The changes reveal how melting ice redistributes mass across Earth.
What to watch. Further GNSS and gravity measurements.
Coverage
Oldest first · UTCCoverage
Oldest first · UTCSourceLive ScienceUnited StatesLeanCenterCredibilityRatings: AllSides, MBFCRead at Live Science“Climate change is literally altering the shape of our planet”
Why it’s in the Brief
Ranked 7th of 10.
- Starting score
- 5.0
- Public-interest topic
- +1.0
- Public-interest terms in the text
- +1.25
- High-reliability sources
- +0.75
- Score
- 8.0
The ranking is the same for everyone.
Perspective mix. 1 center.RatingsAllSides and Media Bias/Fact CheckLean and credibility are curated from their public ratings.Unknown outlets stay unrated, never guessed.