True Polar Wander Driven by Artificial Water Impoundment: 1835–2011

Abstract Artificial water impoundment contributed significantly to global mean sea level change during the 20th century and is included in recent studies of the budget of 20th century true polar wander (TPW). We adopt a recent global database of water impoundment that accounts for 72% of an integrat...

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Main Authors: N. Valencic, E. Speiser, E. Doi, E. T. Lee, B. Ford, A. Hatzius, D. Komaravalli, B. Erdmann, W. Hawley, J. X. Mitrovica
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2025-05-01
Series:Geophysical Research Letters
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1029/2025GL115468
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author N. Valencic
E. Speiser
E. Doi
E. T. Lee
B. Ford
A. Hatzius
D. Komaravalli
B. Erdmann
W. Hawley
J. X. Mitrovica
author_facet N. Valencic
E. Speiser
E. Doi
E. T. Lee
B. Ford
A. Hatzius
D. Komaravalli
B. Erdmann
W. Hawley
J. X. Mitrovica
author_sort N. Valencic
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Artificial water impoundment contributed significantly to global mean sea level change during the 20th century and is included in recent studies of the budget of 20th century true polar wander (TPW). We adopt a recent global database of water impoundment that accounts for 72% of an integrated global volume estimate and compute the associated TPW path from 1835 to 2011 CE. We find a highly non‐monotonic pole path, with an integrated path length of 113.4 cm, a net displacement of 20.5 cm in the direction 103.4°E from 1835 to 1954 CE and 57.1 cm in the direction −117.5°E from 1954 to 2011. Across the first half of the 20th century, the mean rate of TPW was 0.30 cm/yr, while in the second half of the century it was 0.95 cm/yr. Finally, we demonstrate that the 28% of the total global water impoundment missing in our database likely had a negligible impact on polar motion.
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publishDate 2025-05-01
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series Geophysical Research Letters
spelling doaj-art-d78ef6b7e2654b9e80211c2f58f237422025-08-20T03:26:38ZengWileyGeophysical Research Letters0094-82761944-80072025-05-015210n/an/a10.1029/2025GL115468True Polar Wander Driven by Artificial Water Impoundment: 1835–2011N. Valencic0E. Speiser1E. Doi2E. T. Lee3B. Ford4A. Hatzius5D. Komaravalli6B. Erdmann7W. Hawley8J. X. Mitrovica9Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences Harvard University Cambridge MA USADepartment of Earth and Planetary Sciences Harvard University Cambridge MA USADepartment of Earth and Planetary Sciences Harvard University Cambridge MA USADepartment of Earth and Planetary Sciences Harvard University Cambridge MA USADepartment of Earth and Planetary Sciences Harvard University Cambridge MA USADepartment of Earth and Planetary Sciences Harvard University Cambridge MA USADepartment of Earth and Planetary Sciences Harvard University Cambridge MA USADepartment of Earth and Planetary Sciences Harvard University Cambridge MA USADepartment of Earth and Planetary Sciences Harvard University Cambridge MA USADepartment of Earth and Planetary Sciences Harvard University Cambridge MA USAAbstract Artificial water impoundment contributed significantly to global mean sea level change during the 20th century and is included in recent studies of the budget of 20th century true polar wander (TPW). We adopt a recent global database of water impoundment that accounts for 72% of an integrated global volume estimate and compute the associated TPW path from 1835 to 2011 CE. We find a highly non‐monotonic pole path, with an integrated path length of 113.4 cm, a net displacement of 20.5 cm in the direction 103.4°E from 1835 to 1954 CE and 57.1 cm in the direction −117.5°E from 1954 to 2011. Across the first half of the 20th century, the mean rate of TPW was 0.30 cm/yr, while in the second half of the century it was 0.95 cm/yr. Finally, we demonstrate that the 28% of the total global water impoundment missing in our database likely had a negligible impact on polar motion.https://doi.org/10.1029/2025GL115468Earth rotationtrue polar wanderwater impoundment1835–2011
spellingShingle N. Valencic
E. Speiser
E. Doi
E. T. Lee
B. Ford
A. Hatzius
D. Komaravalli
B. Erdmann
W. Hawley
J. X. Mitrovica
True Polar Wander Driven by Artificial Water Impoundment: 1835–2011
Geophysical Research Letters
Earth rotation
true polar wander
water impoundment
1835–2011
title True Polar Wander Driven by Artificial Water Impoundment: 1835–2011
title_full True Polar Wander Driven by Artificial Water Impoundment: 1835–2011
title_fullStr True Polar Wander Driven by Artificial Water Impoundment: 1835–2011
title_full_unstemmed True Polar Wander Driven by Artificial Water Impoundment: 1835–2011
title_short True Polar Wander Driven by Artificial Water Impoundment: 1835–2011
title_sort true polar wander driven by artificial water impoundment 1835 2011
topic Earth rotation
true polar wander
water impoundment
1835–2011
url https://doi.org/10.1029/2025GL115468
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