Melting Ice Sheets Could Shift North Pole Nearly 90 Feet West by 2100

A recent study published in Geophysical Research Letters warns that climate change-driven ice melt could cause Earth’s geographic North Pole to shift up to 89 feet (27 meters) westward by the end of the century, Live Science reported. Researchers from ETH Zurich analyzed historical pole movements from 1900 to 2018 and used climate models to project future shifts under various greenhouse gas emission scenarios.

The study found that meltwater from Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets is the primary driver of this shift, surpassing the natural effects of glacial isostatic adjustment—the Earth’s crust rebounding after the last ice age. Even under optimistic emissions scenarios, the North Pole could move as much as 39 feet (12 meters).

Such a shift in Earth’s rotational axis could complicate satellite and spacecraft navigation, which depend on precise knowledge of the planet’s orientation. Scientists suggest future research into paleoclimate data to better understand how human activities compare to natural shifts in Earth’s axis over millions of years.