The Three Gorges Dam, located on the Yangtze River, in China, is an unprecedented work of engineering and is considered a pillar in the country's hydroelectric power generation.
However, new discoveries suggest that this enormous structure may be influencing the Earth rotation intensely. The information came from scientific studies and caused quite a controversy.
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The Three Gorges Dam
(Image: disclosure)
Built over a 15-year period, from 1994 to 2009, at a cost of more than US$37 billion (R$180 billion), the Three Gorges Dam is the largest hydroelectric plant in the world.
It houses a reservoir that stores an impressive 42 billion tons of water. Therefore, the magnitude of this reservoir raised the question about its possible impact on the planet's rotation.
The key concept here is Inertia, which evaluates a body's resistance to changes in its angular velocity. The further the mass moves away from the axis of rotation, the greater the moment of inertia.
Therefore, by accumulating billions of tons of water above sea level, the dam may be contributing to an increase in the Earth's moment of inertia.
As a result, this culminates in a slowdown in the planet's rotation and, consequently, an increase in the length of days.
The impact of this consequence
Specialists from NASA are categorical in stating that such changes are minimal on a global scale, having no significant impact on the climate or life here.
The Three Gorges Dam reservoir would extend the day by just 0.06 microseconds, equivalent to 0.00000006 seconds, or approximately the effect of the lunar tide on Earth.
Furthermore, the Chinese structure has limited potential to change the shape of the Earth or affect its poles. This occurs due to the important centrifugal force that the large volume of water stored in the reservoir exerts on the Earth's equator.
Scientists also emphasize that natural events such as earthquakes, significant volcanic eruptions or climate variations, can have a much greater impact on the Earth's moment of inertia than the dam.
Even knowing this, the question remains intriguing and is an example of how human actions can have repercussions on even the most complex global phenomena.
