NASA refines measurements of Earth's seasonal center-of-mass shifts

Researchers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory developed a method to precisely measure seasonal shifts in Earth's center of mass using laser tracking of the LAGEOS satellites, GPS data and crustal deformation models. The new estimates show the movement is roughly half of what was believed eight years ago.

• Earth's center of mass shifts by several millimeters as water, ice and air move
• Previous 2017 and 2023 estimates differed by 7 mm — nearly the size of the movement itself
• Snow across Eurasia and North America shifts the center 3 mm toward the North Pole in March
• The Amazon basin's 2,400 gigatons of water pull the center 2.2 mm toward South America in April