Reference no: EM131722483

Concern has been expressed that warming of the atmosphere, resulting from industrial pollution, could cause the polar ice caps to melt. If the polar ice caps of the earth were to melt and the water returned to the oceans, the oceans would be made deeper by about 47.2 m. This will affect the earth's rotation. Make an estimate of the resulting change in the length of the day, assuming that all of the earth's surface is covered with oceans. Assume that the earth (excluding the polar ice caps) is a uniform sphere with a mass of 5.98 x 1024 kg and a radius of 6.37 x 106 m. In addition, assume that the polar ice caps do not contribute to the rotational inertia of the earth since they are located very close to the rotation axis. Water has a density of 1.000 g/cm3.