Human Water Pumping Alters Earth's Spin and Axis

A new study by researchers at South Korea's Seoul National University suggests that humans extracted so much groundwater between 1993 and 2010 that it shifted the Earth's poles and caused sea levels to rise. The researchers found that the Earth tilted almost 31.5 inches in those years, a process known as "polar motion." The study highlights the impact of human activity on the planet and the various factors contributing to sea level rise. Groundwater extraction had not been isolated when studying this effect until now.