Cataclysmic pole shift hypothesis

Definition and clarification

The geographic poles 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 that are caused by precession and nutation, and is an amplified event of a true polar wander. Geologically, a surface shift separate from a planetary shift, enabled by earth's molten core.

Pole shift hypotheses are not connected with plate tectonics, 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, the corollary to plate tectonics which maintains that locations of the continents have moved slowly over the surface of Earth,{{cite web | access-date=2010-05-04 }} resulting in the gradual emerging and breakup of continents and oceans over hundreds of millions of years.{{cite journal

Pole shift hypotheses are not the same as geomagnetic reversal, the occasional reversal of Earth's magnetic field (effectively switching the north and south magnetic poles).

Speculative history

In popular literature, 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"{{citation In the 1930s and 40s, American Edgar Cayce's prophecies predicted cataclysms he called "Earth changes"; Ruth Montgomery would later cite Cayce's prophecies to support her polar shift theories.

In 1948, Hugh Auchincloss Brown, 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.{{cite book

In his pseudo-scientific 1950 work Worlds in Collision, Immanuel Velikovsky 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.{{cite book

Recent conjectures

Several authors have offered 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){{cite journal

In popular culture

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

Scientific research

Main article: True polar wander

While there are reputable studies showing that true polar wander 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).{{cite journal

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.{{cite journal

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

References

1. ''Threshold to Tomorrow'', (1984) {{ISBN. 978-0-449-20182-4 {{ISBN. 0449201821; ''Strangers Among Us'', (1979); ''Aliens Among Us'', (1985) and ''The World to Come: The Guides' Long-Awaited Predictions for the Dawning Age'', (1999).
2. (13 February 2013). "Magnetic Myths".
3. "Earth's magnetic field is not about to reverse and trigger global catastrophe". Independent.
4. Smit, Josephine. (May 9, 2012). "Will a Magnetic Pole Shift Mean the End of the World?".
5. Charles H. Hapgood. (1958). "Earth's Shifting Crust: A Key to Some Basic Problems of Earth Science, introduction by Einstein". Pantheon Books.
6. Olsen, Brad. 'Modern Esoteric: Beyond Our Senses', San Francisco, CCC Publishing, 2014). {{ISBN. 1888729503.
7. Flem-Ath, Rand, Flem-Ath, Rose. ''When The Sky Fell: In Search of Atlantis'' (introduction by [[Colin Wilson]], London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1995). {{ISBN. 0-297-81628-4
8. Brass, Michael. (July–August 2002). "Tracing Graham Hancock's Shifting Cataclysm". [[Skeptical Inquirer]].