The world’s largest hydroelectric dam in China called the “Three Gorges Dam” is a very huge infrastructure project and its size is so big that it has affected the spin of Earth.

The dam which is located in the Hubei province of central China is spread across the longest river in Eurasia, which is the Yangtze River. 

The dam uses the flow of water from the three closest gorges, known as Qutangxia, Wuxia, and Xilingxia, for spinning the turbine and generating electricity. 

It was found to have Earth-shifting capabilities for the first time in 2005 when NASA discovered how the rotation of Earth was affected by the catastrophic Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami.

This further explains how the change in mass distribution across Earth can have very little influence on the moment of inertia of the planet. 

Also Read: Earth’s mantle is hosting strange ‘black holes’ with mysterious waves. Here’s what they are

In a similar way, the Earth’s spin is affected by an earthquake because of the shifting of the tectonic plates. 

According to NASA scientists, this is what happened after the earthquake in the Indian Ocean in 2004. 

The scientists observed that the mass distribution on Earth was altered by the earthquake and the length of a day was decreased by 2.68 microseconds.

Scientists explain how China’s giant dam is changing Earth’s spin

Scientists have explained that a massive shift in the water can also change the spin of the Earth.

A geophysicist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Centre Dr Benjamin Fong Chao explained that around 40 cubic kilometers (10 trillion gallons) of water is being held by the giant Chinese dam.

According to his calculations, the length of a day can be increased by 0.06 microseconds because of the shift of mass and the pole position of Earth can move by around 2 centimetres (0.8 inches). 

Watch: Study Suggests Earth Had Saturn-Like Rings That Lasted For Tens Of Millions Of Years

This is not a huge impact in comparison to giant earthquakes’ marginal effect.

Human civilisation has affected the Earth’s rotation in other ways also. The spin has been affected by climate change and its impact on the mass distribution on Earth.

With the increase in temperatures and melting of polar ice caps as well as the rising of tropical seas, more mass has gathered at the equator of the planet in comparison to its poles.

This is slowing the spin of Earth and leading to slightly longer days.

(With inputs from agencies)