AUSTIN, Texas — You might have recently heard about an expected "wobble" in the moon's orbit that could have serious impacts here on Earth.
No, we're not talking about the viral song and dance from 2009. We're referring to the normal sway of the moon that has been recognized by scientists since 1728.
According to NASA, this "wobble" in the moon's orbit takes 18.6 years to complete and has an effect on the moon's gravitational pull. Why does this matter? And if this sway in the moon has been around for centuries, why is it just now making headlines? Well, the gravitational pull caused by the moon plays the largest role in creating the Earth's tides – high and low tide.
NASA mentions that during half of the moon's 18.6-year cycle, high tides are suppressed and not as high, along with low tides not being as low. However, during the other half, tides are amplified. Research conducted by the NASA Sea Level Change Science Team from the University of Hawaii shows this could create problems for many coastal communities. When you factor these amplified high tides with the current rise in sea levels, coastal flooding becomes an even larger concern. This increase in coastal flooding is expected to occur in the mid-2030s.
The image above depicts sea level change over the past decade. The data used to create this graphic was collected from the UHSLC Fast-Delivery database in addition to the Ssalto/Duacs altimeter products provided by the European Union Copernicus Marine and Environment Monitoring Service. Notice a majority of the U.S. coastline has been experiencing sea level rise. The exception to this trend is located along far northern coastlines, such as around Alaska.
One can notice how, according to the data, areas along the Gulf Coast, including the Texas coastline, appear to have experienced some of the largest rise in sea level over the past decade.
It is worth noting the "wobble" in the moon's orbit is not the direct cause for the projected increase in the number of coastal flooding events. It is the combination of higher sea levels in addition to the normal gravitational pull from the moon during this portion of its orbit.
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