NASA made a sensational statement about what China did to Earth

Dr. Benjamin Fong Chao, a geophysicist from the Goddard Space Flight Center (NASA), stated that the construction of the world's largest hydroelectric power station - China's Three Gorges Dam - has affected Earth's rotation.

This is reported by BAKU.WS with reference to telegraf.news.

According to him, the huge volume of water held by the dam (about 40 cubic kilometers at a height of 175 meters above sea level) has changed the distribution of mass on the planet. This caused a slowdown in Earth's rotation, resulting in an increase in day length by 0.06 microseconds, and the planet's axis shifted by approximately 2 centimeters.

"When you move mass - you change the rotation of the planet. The effect is minimal, but measurable," explains Chao. He compared this to a figure skater who slows down rotation by extending their arms.

The Three Gorges Dam, located on the Yangtze River in Hubei Province, was put into operation in 2012. Its length is 2,335 meters, height - 185 meters.

However, it's not only engineering structures that affect Earth's rotation. Scientists remind us that the planet has been gradually slowing down since its formation 4.5 billion years ago. The main reason for this is the gravitational influence of the Moon, which is gradually moving away and "slowing down" the Earth.

Research shows that about 1.4 billion years ago, a day lasted only 18 hours, and over the past 70 million years, days have become half an hour longer. It is estimated that days increase by 1.8 milliseconds every century.

According to microbiologist Gregory Dick from the University of Michigan, the lengthening of the day may have played a key role in saturating the atmosphere with oxygen. A longer daylight period allowed photosynthesizing bacteria to produce more oxygen, contributing to the development of life.