Oct 01, 2022 09:00:00

The possibility that the orbit of the moon affects the growth and climate of plants on the earth

It is known that the ebb and flow of tides due to the gravitational pull of the moon have a significant impact on the behavior of animals on Earth, such as fish migration and coral spawning. A research team at Macquarie University found that the ebb and flow of the tide may also affect the ecology of

mangroves .

Scientists Find Weird Connection Between Lunar 'Wobble' And Mangrove Canopies : ScienceAlert
The lunar nodal cycle controls mangrove canopy cover on the Australian continent | Science Advances
https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abo6602

Scientists Find Weird Connection Between Lunar 'Wobble' And Mangrove Canopies : ScienceAlert
https://www.sciencealert.com/scientists-find-weird-connection-between-lunar-wobble-and-mangrove-canopies

A research team led by Professor Neil Sentilan, a wetland ecologist at Macquarie University, used high-resolution satellite photographs taken from 1987 to 2022 to measure mangrove forest coverage across the Australian continent. As a result, it was found that there is a variation in the mangrove canopy area.

Due to the ebb and flow of the tide, which is produced by the lunar cycle of about one month, the tide flow covering the roots of mangroves growing along the coast also changes, which affects the growth of mangroves. However, the association pointed out in this study is long-term fluctuations in the moon's orbit.

The moon's orbital plane is close to the Earth's orbital plane, the ecliptic plane , and has an inclination of about 5.1 degrees. And the moon's orbital plane itself rotates with a period of about 18.6 years while maintaining this inclination. The rotation of this orbital plane changes the orbit of the moon little by little, which also affects the mangroves.

“When we looked at trends in annual mangrove canopy cover over time, we noticed very interesting oscillations in the 18.6-year cycle,” said Sentilan. By the way, it was perfectly consistent with changes in mangrove canopy cover.'

According to the research team, when the tidal force of the moon weakens due to long-term cycles, the tide level will be low, which will dry the mangrove ecosystem and reduce the canopy cover. On the other hand, when the tidal force is maximized, the tide level rises and the growth of mangroves is promoted, so the covered area of the tree canopy also increases.

The research team also found that changes in the lunar orbital plane during the 18.6-year cycle also affect the El Niño/Southern Oscillation , which affects heavy rains and droughts that occur in eastern Australia, North America, and the west coast of South America. pointed out. For example, researchers argue that the timing of the El Niño event, which killed about 40 million mangroves in northern Australia in 2015, coincided with the timing of the weakest lunar tidal force.

The research team says the study is important for unraveling the natural rhythms of the earth, and as the world searches for ways to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to stop global warming, the details will be revealed. He argues that it is important to understand