The cataclysmic pole shift hypothesis is a

pseudo-scientific Pseudoscience consists of statements, beliefs, or practices that claim to be both scientific and factual but are incompatible with the scientific method. Pseudoscience is often characterized by contradictory, exaggerated or unfalsifiable claim ...

claim that there have been recent, geologically rapid shifts in the axis of rotation of

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...

, causing calamities such as floods and tectonic events or relatively rapid climate changes. There is evidence of

precession Precession is a change in the orientation of the rotational axis of a rotating body. In an appropriate reference frame it can be defined as a change in the first Euler angle, whereas the third Euler angle defines the rotation itself. In oth ...

and changes in

axial tilt In astronomy, axial tilt, also known as obliquity, is the angle between an object's rotational axis and its orbital axis, which is the line perpendicular to its orbital plane; equivalently, it is the angle between its equatorial plane and orb ...

, but this change is on much longer time-scales and does not involve relative motion of the spin axis with respect to the planet. However, in what is known as

true polar wander True polar wander is a solid-body rotation of a planet or moon with respect to its spin axis, causing the geographic locations of the north and south poles to change, or "wander". Unless the body is totally rigid (which the Earth is not) its sta ...

, the Earth rotates with respect to a fixed spin axis. Research shows that during the last 200 million years a total true polar wander of some 30° has occurred, but that no rapid shifts in Earth's geographic axial pole were found during this period. A characteristic rate of true polar wander is 1° or less per million years. Between approximately 790 and 810 million years ago, when the

supercontinent In geology, a supercontinent is the assembly of most or all of Earth's continental blocks or cratons to form a single large landmass. However, some geologists use a different definition, "a grouping of formerly dispersed continents", which leav ...

Rodinia existed, two geologically-rapid phases of true polar wander may have occurred. In each of these, the magnetic poles of Earth shifted by approximately 55° due to a large shift in the crust.

Definition and clarification

The

geographic pole A geographical pole or geographic pole is either of the two points on Earth where its axis of rotation intersects its surface. The North Pole lies in the Arctic Ocean while the South Pole is in Antarctica. North and South poles are also defined ...

s are defined by the points on the surface of Earth that are intersected by the axis of rotation. The pole shift hypothesis describes a change in location of these poles with respect to the underlying surface – a phenomenon distinct from the changes in axial orientation with respect to the

plane of the ecliptic The ecliptic or ecliptic plane is the orbital plane of the Earth around the Sun. From the perspective of an observer on Earth, the Sun's movement around the celestial sphere over the course of a year traces out a path along the ecliptic agains ...

that are caused by

and

nutation Nutation () is a rocking, swaying, or nodding motion in the axis of rotation of a largely axially symmetric object, such as a gyroscope, planet, or bullet in flight, or as an intended behaviour of a mechanism. In an appropriate reference frame ...

, and is an amplified event of a

. Geologically, a surface shift separate from a planetary shift, enabled by earth's molten core. Pole shift hypotheses are not connected with

plate tectonics Plate tectonics (from the la, label=Late Latin, tectonicus, from the grc, τεκτονικός, lit=pertaining to building) is the generally accepted scientific theory that considers the Earth's lithosphere to comprise a number of large ...

, the well-accepted geological theory that Earth's surface consists of solid plates which shift over a viscous, or semifluid asthenosphere; nor with

continental drift Continental drift is the hypothesis that the Earth's continents have moved over geologic time relative to each other, thus appearing to have "drifted" across the ocean bed. The idea of continental drift has been subsumed into the science of pl ...

, the corollary to plate tectonics which maintains that locations of the continents have moved slowly over the surface of Earth, resulting in the gradual emerging and breakup of continents and oceans over hundreds of millions of years. Pole shift hypotheses are not the same as

geomagnetic reversal A geomagnetic reversal is a change in a planet's magnetic field such that the positions of magnetic north and magnetic south are interchanged (not to be confused with geographic north and geographic south). The Earth's field has alternated ...

, the occasional reversal of Earth's magnetic field (effectively switching the north and south magnetic poles).

Speculative history

popular literature Genre fiction, also known as popular fiction, is a term used in the book-trade for fictional works written with the intent of fitting into a specific literary genre, in order to appeal to readers and fans already familiar with that genre. A num ...

, many conjectures have been suggested involving very rapid polar shift. A slow shift in the poles would display the most minor alterations and no destruction. A more dramatic view assumes more rapid changes, with dramatic alterations of geography and localized areas of destruction due to earthquakes and tsunamis.

Early proponents

An early mention of a shifting of Earth's axis can be found in an 1872 article entitled "Chronologie historique des Mexicains" by

Charles Étienne Brasseur de Bourbourg Abbé Charles-Étienne Brasseur de Bourbourg (8 September 1814 – 8 January 1874) was a noted French writer, ethnographer, historian, archaeologist, and Catholic priest. He became a specialist in Mesoamerican studies, travelling extensively ...

, a specialist in Mesoamerican codices who interpreted ancient Mexican myths as evidence for four periods of global cataclysms that had begun around 10,500 BCE. In 1889, Jules Verne imagined the possible consequences of artificial pole shift in his book "The Purchase of the North Pole". In 1948,

Hugh Auchincloss Brown Hugh Auchincloss Brown (23 December 1879 – 19 November 1975) was an electrical engineer who advanced a theory of catastrophic pole shift. Brown claimed that massive accumulation of ice at the poles caused recurring tipping of the axis in cycles ...

, an electrical engineer, advanced a hypothesis of catastrophic pole shift. Brown also argued that accumulation of ice at the poles caused recurring tipping of the axis, identifying cycles of approximately seven millennia. In his pseudo-scientific 1950 work ''

Worlds in Collision ''Worlds in Collision'' is a book by Immanuel Velikovsky published in 1950. The book postulates that around the 15th century BC, the planet Venus was ejected from Jupiter as a comet or comet-like object and passed near Earth (an actual collision ...

'',

Immanuel Velikovsky Immanuel Velikovsky (; rus, Иммануи́л Велико́вский, p=ɪmənʊˈil vʲɪlʲɪˈkofskʲɪj; 17 November 1979) was a Jewish, Russian-American psychoanalyst, writer, and catastrophist. He is the author of several books offering ...

postulated that the planet Venus emerged from Jupiter as a comet. During two proposed near-approaches in about 1450 BCE, he suggested that the direction of Earth's rotation was changed radically, then reverted to its original direction on the next pass. This disruption supposedly caused earthquakes, tsunamis, and the parting of the Red Sea. Further, he said near misses by Mars between 776 and 687 BCE also caused Earth's axis to change back and forth by ten degrees. Velikovsky cited historical records in support of his work, although his studies were generally ridiculed by the scientific community.

Recent conjectures

Several authors have offered Pseudoscience, pseudoscientific arguments for the hypothesis, including journalist and New Age enthusiast Ruth Shick Montgomery. Skeptics counter that these works combine speculation, the work of psychics, and modern folklore, while largely avoiding any effort at basic science by trying to disprove their own hypothesis.

Earth crustal displacement hypothesis

Charles Hapgood is now perhaps the best remembered early proponent of the hypothesis that some climate changes and ice ages could be explained by large sudden shifts of the geographic poles. In his books ''The Earth's Shifting Crust'' (1958) (which includes a foreword by Albert Einstein)Alt URL
/ref> and ''Path of the Pole'' (1970), Hapgood speculated that accumulated polar ice mass destabilizes Earth's rotation, causing crustal displacement but not disturbing Earth's axial orientation. Hapgood argued that shifts (of no more than 40 degrees) occurred about every 5,000 years, interrupting 20,000- to 30,000-year periods of polar stability. He cited recent North Pole locations in Hudson Bay (60°N, 73°W), the Atlantic Ocean between Iceland and Norway (72°N, 10°E) and the Yukon (63°N, 135°W). However, in his subsequent work ''The Path of the Pole'', Hapgood conceded Einstein's point that the weight of the polar ice is insufficient to cause polar shift. Instead, Hapgood argued that causative forces must be located below the surface. Hapgood encouraged Canadian librarian Rand Flem-Ath to pursue scientific evidence backing Hapgood's claims. Flem-Ath published the results of this work in 1995 in ''When the Sky Fell'' co-written with his wife Rose.

In popular culture

The idea of earth crust displacement is featured in 2012 (film), ''2012'', a 2009 film based on the 2012 phenomenon.

Scientific research

While there are reputable studies showing that

has occurred at various times in the past, the rates are much smaller (1° per million years or slower) than predicted by the pole shift hypothesis (up to 1° per thousand years). Analysis of the evidence does not lend credence to Hapgood's hypothesized rapid displacement of layers of Earth. Data indicates that the geographical poles have not deviated by more than about 5° over the last 130 million years, contradicting the hypothesis of a cataclysmic polar wander event. More rapid past possible occurrences of true polar wander have been measured: from 790 to 810 million years ago, true polar wander of approximately 55° may have occurred twice.

References

External links

Alleged "Evidence" of Earth Crustal Displacement (Pole Shift)
nalysis of specific evidence used to argue for geologically recent Pole Shift * ''Fingerprints of the Gods'' (1995) by Graham Hancock, an analysis of arguments made for a Late Pleistocene Pole Shift, based on the ideas of Rand Flem-Ath by
"The Day the Earth Fell Over"
at LiveScience
Charting Imaginary Worlds: Pole Shifts, Ice Sheets, and Ancient Sea Kings

More about interpreting ancient maps and ideas of Charles Hapgood.

* * * [https://web.archive.org/web/20080409135051/http://www.dailycommonsense.com/what-is-that-pole-shift-thing-part-ii/ “What is that pole shift thing?"], ''Daily Common Sense'' blog {{Climate oscillations Geodesy Pole shift theory and theorists Pseudoscience Doomsday scenarios