Polar Wandering, a Random Walk Problem

Abstract

IT has often been supposed that due to redistributions of mass the body of the Earth as a whole has shifted relative to its rotational axis, which has remained fixed relative to the Sun. It is convenient to think of this as movement of the pole over the surface of a fixed Earth. Since the Proterozoic the pole appears to have been displaced by as much as 90° of arc to its present position. Orogenic or epeirogenic movements and ice-cap melting or formation with the attendant fluctuations in sea-level are usually cited as possible causes of polar wandering. Darwin¹ and Kelvin² first discussed the dynamic stability of the Earth. Gold³ and Munk⁴ have recently re-examined the problem and have concluded that such large displacements of the pole could be a consequence of such geological activities.