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Westward Displacement of the Lithosphere

Abstract

THE peak of the oceanic and solid Earth tidal bulges lead the overhead position of the Moon and the couple is1N= 8/5πGMρ41ur d sin 2ε (1) where G is the Newtonian constant, M the Moon's mass, ρ1, the radius of the Earth body, c, the distance between centres, ur, the radial displacement, d, the density of the matter in the bulge and ε, the phase displacement (Fig. 1). The sum of the couples is known to be between 3.9 and 5.3 × 1023 dyne cm from observations of the acceleration of the Moon in orbit and the reduction of the Earth's rotation rate2.

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BOSTROM, R. Westward Displacement of the Lithosphere. Nature 234, 536–538 (1971). https://doi.org/10.1038/234536a0

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