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Mars may be 140 million miles away, but its gravity may be affecting Earth’s oceans.
Scientists at the University of Sydney in Australia believe that the Red Planet’s gravitational pull creates “giant whirlpools” in the ocean called eddies, which could shift the deep ocean floor.
They claim this is part of Earth’s 2.4 million-year “grand cycle” of climate, which has been going on for at least 40 million years.
“We were surprised to find these 2.4 million-year cycles in deep-sea sediment data,” said Adriana Dutkiewicz, a geoscience researcher at the University of Sydney.
“There’s only one way to explain them. They’re involved in the cycle of Mars-Earth interactions around the sun.”
Here, a swirl is shown flowing off the coast of Japan.
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Small changes can have a big impact
If the climate crisis has taught us anything, it’s that seemingly trivial events, such as humans choosing carbon-based fuels to power industry, can lead to delicate balances in the future. This could have a devastating impact on the climate.
Today it is very clear how humans are causing the rapid warming of the planet.
But scientists are increasingly discovering how even smaller changes to Earth, such as tweaking its position in the solar system, can affect long-term trends in climate. .
Previous research suggests that: A small wobble in the Earth’s axis It has the potential to tip the climate scale for tens of thousands of years.
Scientists are now proposing a “great astronomical cycle” on the scale of millions of years, which they say is caused by the subtle effects of Mars’ gravitational pull.
“Mars’ influence on Earth’s climate is similar to the butterfly effect,” said study author Dietmar Müller, professor of geosciences at the University of Sydney. new scientist.
Earth resonates with Mars, which slowly changes climate and oceans
Evidence for this theory lies in about 300 deep-sea cores that trace marine sediments that are more than 65 million years old.
These findings revealed that the sedimentary deposits ebb and flow over a very long period of time, ebbing and flowing every 2.4 million years.
This suggests something strange is happening on that timescale, which suspiciously coincides with a period of warm weather, say Muller, Dutkiewicz and their co-authors. stated in the paper. the study Published on Tuesday.
For scientists, there’s only one culprit: Mars.
The Red Planet’s orbit and ours are locked in a complex dance, and every now and then they align, making Mars’ gravitational pull on Earth just a little stronger. This is called resonance.
This could pull the Earth slightly toward the Sun, increasing surface temperature and solar radiation.
That could have ripple effects on the climate through the oceans. Oceans are known to generate giant swirls ahead of climate warming.
This effect would not drastically change the climate in itself, but it could steer the planet toward a slightly warmer system, for example by tweaking the Atlantic currents that regulate the Gulf Stream.
The findings were published in the peer-reviewed journal Nature Communications.
Composite image of Mars
NASA/JPL/Marin Space Science System
further evidence needed
Not everyone agrees that these million-year change cases are settled.
Matthew England of the University of New South Wales in Sydney told New Scientist that he was “skeptical” given Mars’ weak gravitational pull.
“Even Jupiter has a stronger gravitational field than Earth,” he said.
Still, if the theory is correct, it would provide valuable insight into these “megacycles.” This information is critical in refining models that help us understand how Earth’s complex climate evolves over time.
Benjamin Mills, a biogeochemist at the University of Leeds, said: “Many of us have seen these multi-million-year cycles in various geological, geochemical and biological records. “This includes the famous Cambrian explosion of animal life.” A study participant told New Scientist.
“This paper helps solidify these ideas as an important part of environmental change,” Mills said.