The Rotation of the Earth
This book gives an account of certain observed irregularities on the rotation of the Earth, both in its rate of rotation (giving a variable length of day) and in the position of its axis. These irregularities are caused by events on and within the Earth and provide a means of studying a number of geophysical problems. Seasonal shifts in air masses and variable winds are causes of short-period fluctuations in the rotation. Climatic changes and their attendant sea levels are in part responsible for long-term fluctuations. Modern observations of the Moon and descriptions of ancient elipses both establish a secular increase in the length of day. The interpretation involves atmospheric, oceanic and bodily tides. The book provides a unified treatment of the rotation of the Earth, making this method of studying geophysical phenomena more readily accessible to geophysicists and others.
Product details
- Published: March 2009
- Format: Paperback
- ISBN: 9780521104067
- Length: 348 pages
- Dimensions: 216 × 140 × 20 mm
- Weight: 0.44kg
- Availability: Available
Table of Contents
- Part I. Preview
- Part II. Precession, nutation and wobble
- Part III. Dynamics
- Part IV. Deformation
- Part V. Love numbers and associated coefficients
- Part VI. Solutions to the approximate Liouville equation
- Part VII. Observations of latitude
- Part VIII. Observations of the length of day
- Part IX. Seasonal and other short-period variations
- Part X. Chandler wobble
- Part XI. Historical variations
- Part XII. Geological variations
- Appendix
- Bibliography
- Index.
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