Groundwater pumping alters Earth's rotation, study finds.

Humans have shifted such a large mass of groundwater that the Earth tilted nearly 80 centimeters (31.5 inches) east between 1993 and 2010 alone, according to a new study. The study shows that among climate-related causes, the redistribution of groundwater has the largest impact on the drift of the rotational pole. Countries' attempts to slow groundwater depletion rates, especially in sensitive regions, could theoretically alter the change in drift, but only if such conservation approaches are sustained for decades.