The newest observational evidence on asymmetrical deformation of the Earth

IntroductionWhat is the shape of the Earth? Does it change continuously? It is a scientific question since the ancient times and is still being observed and explored at present. In 250 BC, Greek scholar Eratosthene supposed the shape of the Earth to be spherical according to the observations to the Sun and estimated the perimeter of the Earth to be 4 000 km (King-Hele, 1976) according to the camel-walking distance. Until the 16th century, the Earth was considered to be a very symmetrical …

The newest observational evidence on asymmetrical deformation of the Earth

Based on the coordinates, velocities and their error estimations of 595 GPS, SLR and VLBI stations issued by IERS in March 2001, the current asymmetrical deformation of the Earth is studied. The results show that the northern hemisphere of the Earth is undergoing compressive deformation, and the southern hemisphere is undergoing extensional deformation with the equator as the boundary. If the longitude line of 90°E and 90°W is taken as the boundary, the Pacific hemisphere (with 180° as its central longitude) is undergoing compressive deformation, and the Atlantic hemisphere (with 0° as its central longitude) is undergoing extensional deformation. The deformation patterns indicate again that the Earth is undergoing some dual-asymmetrical deformation. Moreover, taking 6 366.740 km as the standard mean curvature radius of the Earth, the velocity of volume change calculated from the data of space geodesy is 6.65×10¹¹ m³/a. Foundation item: State Natural Science Foundation of China (49834020). The data used in the paper can be download from the following web site: http://AREG.ENSG.TGN.FR/ITRF/ITRF2000. This paper is supported by the Engineering Center of Crustal Movement Observation Network of China (CMONOC).