As time goes on, global warming is making itself more and more prevalent. The Earth’s spin is slowing down ever so slightly. It has been slowing now for many years. Scientists say that the melting glaciers are the root of the problem.

As Professor Mitrovica of Harvard University puts it, “water melting off glaciers and moving away from the poles acts much like an ice skater’s outstretched arms, making every rotation that much slower.”

Scientists believe every day the Earth is slowing by one millisecond. That may not seem to be that much, but it’s not just something that goes without consequences. With glaciers melting sea levels all around the world have risen 1-1.5 millimeters in the 20th century alone. Mitrovica has proved the two problems to be related by using a new generation of an outdated and inaccurate model of how ice ages affect the Earth’s rotation.

With all components added together, in 1 century, 1.4 seconds will have been added to every one of our days here on Earth. Goodbye to the 24 hr days and hello to the 24.0004 hr days. Although not much will become of the longer days, the new information is a new and useful tool to oceanographers to measure the amount of glacier the Earth is losing.

“It gives you one, simple, unpolluted measurement of what the Earth’s ice sheets and glaciers are doing,” Mitrovica said.