United States: New research suggests an unexpected connection between Mars’s gravity and Earth’s climate. Scientists have found that deep-sea currents on Earth change in strength every 2.4 million years. These cycles, called “astronomical grand cycles,” seem to be linked to the gravitational pull between Earth and Mars. This discovery comes from geological evidence that goes back over 65 million years.
About the effect of Mars’s gravity on the earth
They pull on each other with their gravity while in space though it is slight effects known commonly as perturbations.
Despite the fact that, the planets are several tens of millions of miles away from each other they are capable of pulling and slightly changing each other’s path.
When the opposites occur – that is, when Mars and Earth are closest, which takes about 26 months – a slight push through Martian gravity leads to a change in Earth orbit.
As reported by the Earth.com, these changes are minor and do not alter outbound Earth trajectory by much, yet as time passes, they can contribute to gradual changes of its orbital plane and tilt thus influencing climate equilibrium.
Climate and current of the Earth’s ocean
Ocean currents available in the deep basins were found to be characterized by the periodic variation in their transport capability, with phases of enhanced and diminished sedimentation of the ocean floor.
Under conditions of intensified current – according to local people, ‘giant whirlpools’ or ‘eddies’ – these movements extend to the bottom of the abyss and erode sediment there.
The conclusion of this new work now explains how these cycles correspond to Earth Mars gravity field interactions.
‘All the planets in the solar system tug at each other in various ways and occasionally come into a mutual attraction-co attraction, known as a resonance: it alters the eccentricity of orbits, that is, how non-circular they are,’ said co-author Dr Dietmar Müller, the University of Sydney’s head of geophysics.
Climate on earth and Martian gravity
Because of this resonance, Mars pulls the Earth closer to the sun, thus there will be increased radiation and hence warmer global climate.
Eventually, earth does shift back again; this cycle takes about 2.4 million years to be repeated. Perhaps this weak gravitational force has something to do with Earth’s climatic cycles on a grand scale.
The researchers used satellite pictures to model geographic distribution of sediment on the ocean floor over millions of years.