Polar Motion - Observations

Observations

Polar motion is observed routinely by Very Long Base Line Interferometry, by Lunar Laser Ranging, and by Satellite Laser Ranging. The annual component is rather constant in amplitude, and its frequency varies by not more than 1 to 2%. The amplitude of the Chandler wobble, however, varies by a factor of three, and its frequency by up to 7%. Its maximum amplitude during the last 100 years never exceeded 230 mas.

The Chandler wobble is usually considered a resonance phenomenon, a free nutation, which is excited by some source and than dying away with a time constant τ_D of the order of 100 years. This term is a measure of the elastic reaction of the Earth. This is also the explanation for the deviation of the Chandler period from the Euler period. However, rather than dying away, the Chandler wobble, continuously observed for more than 100 years, varies in amplitude and shows a sometimes rapid frequency shift within a few years. This reciprocal behavior between amplitude and frequency has been described by the empirical formula:

(2) m = 3.7/(ν - 0.816) (for 0.83 < ν < 0.9)

with m the observed amplitude (in units of mas), and ν the frequency (in units of reciprocal sidereal years) of the Chandler wobble. In order to generate the Chandler wobble, recurring excitation is necessary. Seismic activity, groundwater movement, snow load, or atmospheric interannual dynamics have been suggested as such recurring forces, e.g. Atmospheric excitation seems to be the most likely candidate. Others propose a combination of atmospheric and oceanic processes, with the dominant excitation mechanism being ocean‐bottom pressure fluctuations.