On the possibility of disturbance of the Earth’s dynamic balance by the technogenic impact

Abstract

The article describes the possible disturbance of the Earth’s dynamic balance due to climate changes throughout the last 150 years and technogenic impact. An accident occurred on an oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico on April 20, 2010 is taken as an example of such impact. It is assumed that the accident may have accelerated the slowdown of the Gulf Stream and changed its path, which led to a change in temperature, salinity and density of significant ocean masses. Variations of ocean mass density in some areas could cause a shift of the Earth’s center of mass by 10–5 m and a deviation of its rotation axis by 2.9∙10–6 arcsec. It is shown that the process of disturbance of the Earth’s dynamic balance can be accompanied by an increase in the number of relatively weak earthquakes (in a range of magnitudes 4.2–4.8 by 41.5%) and the intensity of seismic noise (tremor), as shown by broadband seismic networks and satellite GPS navigation data.