South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1922-03-24
NORTH POLE GOES
| AT " OBBLING GAIT
Director Of Observatory States
That Axis of Earth
Shift Continually.

san Pr NCTSCO. March ga
Severn wee 4 aeo. when seIsmO-
kraphs throts shout the world re-
corded an "A rthquake Of terrible
krnDbrtions 81 mcwhere beneath the
bed az the Paa fc ocean. a European
kciertist startH the public by an
nouncing the arthquake had been
taused by the { aTta shifting its axis
II anyone fee Is any deep concern
bver the earth ailmcnt. however.
Be can perhaps Doe reassured by the
statement IL Dt w ". Campbell,
director OF Lick observatory. Mount
Hamilton. Calfor MIA.
4 Or. Campbell tieclares that the
earth undoubtedIy did shift ifs axis.
but that there is no caase for con-
kern. snasmuch as the axis is habitu-
kly sh fitted in this manner.
T The earth. declared DIR. Campbell,
+ very seldom ION cauter
/ at has been known for nearly 40
hears tina the position of the axis Of
The earth shifts tttle.T declared
br. Camn bell "Thc shrt IS slow
And continual. n we could station
burseIvcs 1t the north pole and actu-
ally see the. point who're the end Of
the Gmaginar y) axis of rotation
eoues 90 the surface. vTc should find
~ the course of decades and CEN
turies that this point is constantly
knowing around irregular ly within
eircuIar area or about 81 or So feet
81 diameter It's averflg location
would be tho center ot the circle.
bnce I'm every decade or 1.wo the end
OF the rotation axis wof ld be close
70 the center But "a few years later
it would be as much as 3 feet from
the center Of the circle
Caused BY SNOW an Ice.
This IS partly caused by the ac-
cunuIation OF snow and fee; excess
atmosphere on the u nsymetrical
land areas OF the north ern hemis-
phere in the winter, and the vanish
ing OF these three items in the
northern spring and summer. and
likewise 10 the influence OF air and
ocean currents.
Lord Kelvin computed 40 years
ago that II the earth were complete
" leveIed. the dissymetry Of mass
compared with the present IN
eveness would cause the earth's axis
OF rotation at the north and south
poles 20 shift through a distance Of
100 feet.
II a beautifully balanced flYwheel
OF an engine were thrown out Of
balance by depOsiting an extra,
weight on a section Of its rim. L
would try 70 shift its axis of rota-
tiOn. and If the bearings of the
wheel were yielding or movable,
the axis Of rotation would actually
change The earth is just like the
flywheeI
we do not know positively that
there is any connection between such
shiftings of the carth's axis and
earthquakes. but the connection Is
strongly suspected.
When the unsymetrically loaded
flywheel tries TO change its aSis and
cannot because the bearings hold it
IN a fixed position, stresses are set
up in the wheel.
Influences Earthquak rs.
Similarly the unsymetrical load
ing OF the earth creates stresses
within f. The forces which cause
the wobblings of the earth's axis are
on a stupeudOus scale. The nor
nous rotating earth masses resist a
change Of axis and this is believed
20 encourage the shifting Of the
earth masses along the lines of
greatest weakness - the geologic
faults
students Of seismology have ac-
tually found that the greatest re-
corded earthquakes I'm the past 40
years have occurred when the posi-
ton of the earth's axis was shifting
more rapidly. or had reached its
greatest degree I'm shifting. Among
the complicating factors probably
belong the influence of volcanic
forces and varying attractions of the
sun and moon upon the earth's ma
terials the alternate elevation and
depression of the oceans surface,
such as tidal effects. etc. Satisfac-
tory decisions must await the ac-
emulation Of observed facts before
earthquakes can be traced with con-
fdence 70 their actual causes.
Great earthquakes whose origin