Variations of the Earth＇s rotation rate and cyclic processes in geodynamics

The authors analyzed the relationship between variations of the Earth＇s rotation rate and the geodynamic processes within the Earth＇s body, including seismic activity, The rotation rate of a planet determines its uniaxial compression along the axis of rotation and the areas of various surface elements of the body. The Earth＇s ellipticity variations, caused naturally by the rotation rate variations, are manifested in vertical components of precise GPS measurements. Comparative analysis of these variations is considered in view of modern theoretical ideas concerning the Earth＇s figure. The results justify further research that is of interest for improvement of space svstems and technologiesi.

Earthquake, Volcano and Earth Rotation Harmonics

Earthquake prediction is considered impossible for there is no scientific way to find the date and time, the location, and the magnitude of an earthquake. A new idea is introduced in this paper—earth rotation harmonics triggered natural volcano and earthquake. With earth rotation harmonics response model for a location, it could be possible to calculate the earthquake date and time, and the magnitude. Properties of earth rotation harmonics triggered earthquake are discussed and verified with earthquake data from USGS website. Also, both earth tide and ocean tide effects on earthquake are discussed and verified with earthquake data—tides did not trigger the natural earthquake, they only affect the earthquake activities and time.

Remarks about External Forces Acting on Earth’s Rotation Axis

It is well known that a variation in the direction of Earth’s rotation axis is a real astronomical phenomenon, named nutation. It is interesting if a variation of this axis can take place only in intensity, in the simplest theoretical case of only two rigid body dynamics. This paper presents two positions of the Moon during its monthly orbit, where a sudden variation of Earth’s rotation axis in intensity can take place. The duration of this phenomenon is limited in time, maybe an instant or a day, and then a vortex can appear.

Rotation of the Earth as a Triaxial Rigid Body

The Earth is taken as a triaxial rigid body, which rotates freely in the Euclidian space. The starting equations are the Euler dynamic equations, with A smaller than B and B smaller than C. The Euler equations are solved, and the numerical results are provided. In the calculations, the following parameters are used: (C-B)/A=0.003 273 53; (B-A)/C=0.000 021 96; (C-A)/B=0.003 295 49, and the mean angular velocity of the Earth's rotation, ω =0.000 072 921 15 rad/s. Calculations show that, besides the self-rotation of the Earth and the free Euler procession of its rotation, there exists the free nutation: the nutation angle, or the angle between the Earth's momentary rotation axis and the mean axis that periodically change with time. The free nutation is investigated.

Relationship between Earth’s Rotation and Several Strong Earthquakes and Moderate-small Earthquakes Occurring around the Epicenter Regions Prior to Strong Earthquakes

The relationships between Earth＇s rotation and the 1975 Haicheng, Liaoning Ms7.3 earthquake, 2008 Wenchuan, Sichuan Ms8.0 earthquake and the 2004 Sumatra Msg. 0 earthquake, as well as moderate-small earthquakes occurring around the epicenter regions prior to them are investigated in this study. The obtained results could benefit the further understanding of the relationship between the Earth＇s rotation and earthquakes.

Astronomic background of global huge earthquakes at beginning of 21st century

Since the beginning of the 21st century,major earthquakes have frequently occurred worldwide.To explore the impact of astronomical factors on earthquakes,in this study,the statistical analysis method of correlation is used to systematically analyze the effects of astronomical factors,such as solar activity,Earth’s rotation,lunar declination angle,celestial tidal force,and other phenomena on M≥8 global earthquakes at the beginning of the 21st century.With regard to solar activity,this study focuses on the analysis of the 11-year and century cycles of solar activity.The causal relationship of the Earth’s rotation is not obvious in this work and previous works;in contrast,the valley period of the solar activity century cycle may be an important astronomical factor leading to the frequent occurrence of global earthquakes at the beginning of the 21st century.This topic warrants further study.

Rotating magnetic field inhibits Aβ protein aggregation and alleviates cognitive impairment in Alzheimer’s disease mice

Amyloid beta(Aβ)monomers aggregate to form fibrils and amyloid plaques,which are critical mechanisms in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease(AD).Given the important role of Aβ1-42 aggregation in plaque formation,leading to brain lesions and cognitive impairment,numerous studies have aimed to reduce Aβaggregation and slow AD progression.The diphenylalanine(FF)sequence is critical for amyloid aggregation,and magnetic fields can affect peptide alignment due to the diamagnetic anisotropy of aromatic rings.In this study,we examined the effects of a moderate-intensity rotating magnetic field(RMF)on Aβaggregation and AD pathogenesis.Results indicated that the RMF directly inhibited Aβamyloid fibril formation and reduced Aβ-induced cytotoxicity in neural cells in vitro.Using the AD mouse model APP/PS1,RMF restored motor abilities to healthy control levels and significantly alleviated cognitive impairments,including exploration and spatial and non-spatial memory abilities.Tissue examinations demonstrated that RMF reduced amyloid plaque accumulation,attenuated microglial activation,and reduced oxidative stress in the APP/PS1 mouse brain.These findings suggest that RMF holds considerable potential as a non-invasive,high-penetration physical approach for AD treatment.

Balloon-based exposed payload designed for astrobiological research in Earth’s near space

Earth’s near space,located in the region between 20 and 100 km above sea level,is characterized by extreme conditions,such as low temperature,low atmospheric pressure,harsh radiation,and extreme dryness.These conditions are analogous to those found on the surface of Mars and in the atmosphere of Venus,making Earth’s near space a unique natural laboratory for astrobiological research.To address essential astrobiological questions,teams from the Chinese Academy of Sciences(CAS)have developed a scientific balloon platform,the CAS Balloon-Borne Astrobiology Platform(CAS-BAP),to study the effects of near space environmental conditions on the biology and survival strategies of representative organisms in this terrestrial analog.Here,we describe the versatile Biological Samples Exposure Payload(BIOSEP)loaded on the CAS-BAP with respect to its structure and function.The primary function of BIOSEP is to expose appropriate biological specimens to the harsh conditions of near space and subsequently return the exposed samples to laboratories for further analysis.Four successful flight missions in near space from 2019 to 2021 have demonstrated the high reliability and efficiency of the payload in communicating between hardware and software units,recording environmental data,exposing sample containers,protecting samples from external contamination,and recovering samples.Understanding the effects of Earth’s near space conditions on biological specimens will provide valuable insights into the survival strategies of organisms in extreme environments and the search for life beyond Earth.The development of BIOSEP and associated biological exposure experiments will enhance our understanding of the potential for life on Mars and the habitability of the atmospheric regions of other planets in the solar system and beyond.

Interrelationships between Length of the Day, Moon Distance, Phanerozoic Geodynamic Cycles, Tidal Dissipation and Earth’s Core: Review and Analysis

The rotation of the Earth and the related length of the day (LOD) are predominantly affected by tidal dissipation through the Moon and the growth of the Earth’s core. Due to the increased concentration of mass around the rotation axis of the spinning Earth during the growth of the core the rotation should have been accelerated. Controversially the tidal dissipation by the Moon, which is mainly dependent on the availability of open shallow seas and the kind of Moon escape from a nearby position, acts towards a deceleration of the rotating Earth. Measurements of LOD for Phanerozoic and Precambrian times open ways to solve questions concerning the geodynamical history of the Earth. These measurements encompass investigations of growth patterns in fossils and depositional patterns in sediments (Cyclostratigraphy, Tidalites, Stromatolites, Rhythmites). These patterns contain information on the LOD and on the changing distance between Earth and Moon and can be used as well for a discussion about the growth of the Earth’s core. By updating an older paper with its simple approach as well as incorporating newly published results provided by the geoscientific community, a moderate to fast growth of the core in a hot early Earth will be favored controversially to the assumption of a delayed development of the core in an originally cold Earth. Core development with acceleration of Earth’s rotation and the contemporaneous slowing down due to tidal dissipation during the filling of the ocean may significantly interrelate.

Prediction of earth rotation parameters based on improved weighted least squares and autoregressive model

In this paper, an improved weighted least squares （WLS）, together with autoregressive （AR） model, is proposed to improve prediction accuracy of earth rotation parameters（ERP）. Four weighting schemes are developed and the optimal power e for determination of the weight elements is studied. The results show that the improved WLS-AR model can improve the ERP prediction accuracy effectively, and for different prediction intervals of ERP, different weight scheme should be chosen.

Earth Rotation Parameter Estimation by GPS Observations

The methods of Earth rotation parameter (ERP) estimation based on IGS SINEX file of GPS solution are discussed in detail. There are two different ways to estimate ERP: one is the parameter transformation method, and the other is direct adjustment method with restrictive conditions. By comparing the estimated results with independent copyright program to IERS results, the residual systemic error can be found in estimated ERP with GPS observations.

Earth＇s Temporal Principal Moments of Inertia and Variable Rotation

Based on the gravity field models EGM96 and EIGEN-GL04C, the Earth＇s time-dependent principal moments of inertia A, B, C are obtained, and the variable rotation of the Earth is determined. Numerical results show that A, B, and C have increasing tendencies; the tilt of the rotation axis increases 2.1×10^ 8 mas/yr; the third component of the rotational angular velocity, ω3 , has a decrease of 1.0×10^ 22 rad/s^2, which is around 23% of the present observed value. Studies show in detail that both 0 and ω3 experience complex fluctuations at various time scales due to the variations of A, B and C.

Research on the relationship between Earth＇s variable rotation and global seismic activity

Based on the time series of observational variations of the length of day (LOD) and seismic data in the world,the relations of the decadal fluctuation and seasonal variation in the Earth's rotation with global seismic activityare studied in this paper. The results suggest that there are overall correlations on temporal scale and regionaldiscrepancy on spatial scale between global seismic activity and the Earth's variable rotation, especially the seismic activity in the Eurasian seismic zone (not including southeast Asia) and the Lower California-Eastern Alaskaseismic zone correlating well with the Earth's variable rotation. According to the relations mentioned above, theobservational data of the Earth'S rotation might provide a referential basis for monitoring global seismic activity.

Anomalies identification of Earth’s rotation rate time series (2012-2017) for possible correlation with strong earthquakes occurrence

The analysis of the Earth’s rotation rate time series,from January 1,2012 till December 31,2017,is performed using two different time series analysis methods,both based on signal decomposition joined with forecasting approach.Anomalies in the time series are detected making the comparison between the raw signal and the forecasting one at the 95% confidence interval.The two methods show consistent results and the best is selected according to the evaluation of the prediction uncertainty.Both methods highlight correlations between detected anomalies in the Earth’s rotation rate time series and the world’s earthquakes occurrence with magnitude≥7 and/or number of events≥150 per day,within a time interval of ±10 days from each earthquake event.This study brings an innovation in the analysis of such time series and helps to better understand the extent of this relationship.

Earth rotation deceleration/acceleration due to semidiurnal oceanic/atmospheric tides:Revisited with new calculation

The global oceanic/atmospheric tides exert decelerating/accelerating secular torques on the Earth rotation. We developed new formulations to accurately calculate amounts of two kinds of secular tidal torques. After Melchior, we found that an additional factor 1+k-l = 1.216, which has been formerly neglected, must be multiplied unto the tidal torque integral. By using our refined formulations and the recent oceanic/atmospheric global tide models, we found that:(i) semidiurnal oceanic lunar/solar tides exert decelerating torques of about-4.462 × 10^(16)/-0.676 × 10^(16) Nm respectively and(ii) atmospheric S_2 tide exerts accelerating torque of 1.55 × 10^(15) Nm. Former estimates of the atmospheric S_2 tidal torque were twice as large as our estimate due to improper consideration of loading effect. We took the load Love number for atmospheric loading effect from Guo et al.(2004). For atmospheric loading of spherical harmonic degree two, the value of k′=-0.6031 is different from that for ocean loading as k′ =-0.3052,while the latter is currently used for both cases-ocean/atmospheric loading-without distinction. We discuss(i) the amount of solid Earth tidal dissipation(which has been left most uncertain) and(ii) secular changes of the dynamical state of the Earth-Moon-Sun system. Our estimate of the solid Earth tidal torque is-4.94×10^(15) Nm.

A possible interrelation between Earth rotation and climatic variability at decadal time-scale

Using multichannel singular spectrum analysis （MSSA） we decomposed climatic time se- ries into principal components, and compared them with Earth rotation parameters. The global warming trends were initially subtracted. Similar quasi 60 and 20 year periodic os- cillations have been found in the global mean Earth temperature anomaly （HadCRUT4） and global mean sea level （GMSL）. Similar cycles were also found in Earth rotation variation. Over the last 160 years multi-decadal change of Earth＇s rotation velocity is correlated with the 60-year temperature anomaly, and Chandler wobble envelope reproduces the form of the 60-year oscillation noticed in GMSL. The quasi 20-year oscillation observed in GMSL is correlated with the Chandler wobble excitation. So, we assume that Earth＇s rotation and climate indexes are connected. Despite of all the clues hinting this connection, no sound conclusion can be done as far as ocean circulation modelling is not able to correctly catch angular momentum of the oscillatory modes.

Influence of the earth rotation on the interfacial wave solutions and wave-induced tangential stress in a two-layer fluid system

Interfacial waves and wave-induced tangential stress are studied for geostrophic small amplitude waves of two-layer fluid with a top free surface and a fiat bottom. The solutions were deduced from the general form of linear fluid dynamic equations of two-layer fluid under the f-plane approximation, and wave-induced tangential stress were estimated based on the solutions obtained. As expected, the solutions derived from the present work include as special cases those obtained by Sun et al. （2004. Science in China, Ser. D, 47（12）： 1147-1154） for geostrophic small amplitude surface wave solutions and wave-induced tangential stress if the density of the upper layer is much smaller than that of the lower layer. The results show that the interface and the surface will oscillate synchronously, and the influence of the earth＇s rotation both on the surface wave solutions and the interfacial wave solutions should be considered.

DISTRIBUTION OF ACTIVE EARTH PRESSURE OF RETAINING WALL WITH WALL MOVEMENT OF ROTATION ABOUT TOP

Based on the Coulomb's theory that the earth pressure against the back of a retaining wall is due to the thrust exerted by the sliding wedge of soil from the back of the wall to a plane which passes through the bottom edge of the wall and has an inclination equal to the angle of θ, the theoretical answers to the unit earth pressure, the resultant earth pressure and the point of application of the resultant earth pressure on a retaining wall were obtained for the wall movement mode of rotation about top. The comparisons were made among the formula presented here, the formula for the wall movement mode of translation, the Coulomb's formula and some experimental observations. It is demonstrated that the magnitudes of the resultant earth pressures for the wall movement mode of rotation about top is equal to that determined by the formula for the wall movement mode of translation and the Coulomb's theory. But the distribution of the earth pressure and the points of application of the resultant earth pressures have significant difference.

Co-seismic Earth's rotation caused by the 2012 Sumatra earthquake

Earthquakes heavily deform the crust in the vicinity of the fault, which leads to mass redistribution in the earth interior. Then it will produce the change of the Earth＇s rotation （ polar motion and length of day） due to the change of Earth inertial moment. This paper adopts the elastic dislocation to compute the co-seismic polar motion and variation in length of day （LOD） caused by the 2011 Sumatra earthquake. The Earth＇s rota- tional axis shifted about 1 mas and this earthquake decreased the length of day of 1 p,s, indicating the tendency of earthquakes make the Earth rounder and to pull the mass toward the centre of the Earth. The result of varia- tion in length of day is one order of magnitude smaller than the observed results that are available. We also compared the results of three fault models and find the co-seismic change is depended on the fault model.

Relationship among subtropical anticyclone,drought and earth rotation

The deep reason of severe disaster weather with the relationship among the earth nutation,rotation and atmospheric change is explored based on the effective results about the disaster weather prediction of the long term made by the variation of the earth rotation in near 10 years. It is discussed the relationship between the subtropical anticyclone and subtropical easterlies to aim at the problem of high temperature and drought in the globe,further more,the comparison analysis has been made to the earth nutation and the variation of rotation. The research results show that the reasons of severe disaster weather not only are due to atmosphere itself,but have some variation information of earth movement which could be used for the weather forecast.