The precession constant and its long-term variation
File(s)
Accepted version
Author(s)
Ghelichkhan, Siavash
Fuentes, Jocelyn J
Hoggard, Mark J
Richards, Fred D
Mitrovica, Jerry X
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
The dynamical flattening of the Earth, H, related to the precession constant, is a fundamental astro-geodetic parameter that appears in studies of the Earth's rotation and orbital evolution. We present numerical predictions and observations of the variation in H over time scales ranging from tens of millions of years to decades. The geophysical processes controlling this variation include solid-state convection in the rocky mantle of the Earth that drives plate tectonics, isostatic adjustments due to ice age loading, and ice-ocean mass transfer linked to modern global climate change. The time dependence of H is complex and non-linear, and thus, in contrast to previous suggestions, cannot be captured by a constant rate parameter.
Date Issued
2021-04-01
Date Acceptance
2020-10-06
Citation
Icarus, 2021, 358
ISSN
0019-1035
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Journal / Book Title
Icarus
Volume
358
Copyright Statement
© 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. This manuscript is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Licence http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Sponsor
Imperial College London
Schmidt Science Fellows
Identifier
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S001910352030511X?via%3Dihub
Subjects
0201 Astronomical and Space Sciences
0402 Geochemistry
0404 Geophysics
Astronomy & Astrophysics
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
ARTN 114172
Date Publish Online
2020-10-21