The earthquake in Chile reduced the duration of the day and shifted the axis of the Earth

The earthquake of 8.8 degrees on the Richter scale occurred on Saturday in Chile, which has left at least 700 dead, very slightly reduced the length of day and shifted the axis of the earth in eight centimeters, according to agency data Space Administration (NASA).

In an article published in 'Business Week, the Geophysical Laboratory in Pasadena, California, Richard Gross, said that earthquakes can move hundreds of kilometers of rock in very confined spaces, which changes the distribution of mass on the planet, affecting Earth's rotation.

This small change is enclosed "in larger changes due to other causes, such as air mass moving over the Earth," the dean of Geophysics, National Central University in Taiwan, Benjamin Fong Chao.
Based on calculations made using computerized methods, NASA has found that because of the earthquake in Chile, the Earth's axis has moved three inches and that "the day length should be shortened 1.26 microseconds (millionths of second).

It is not the first time that similar changes are detected after an earthquake. The day fell by 6.8 microseconds in late 2004 because of the 9.1-degree earthquake registered off Sumatra that caused the biggest 'tsunami' of history.
The effect of ice skater

David Kerridge, at the helm Geological Survey Edimburgoe UK British Geological Survey in Edinburgh, explains: "When a skater goes up their arms when turning to go get more and more speed. It's the same idea: Earth is spinning and if you change the distribution of mass, time of rotation changes.
According to Professor at the University of Liverpool Andreas Rietbrock, who has been studying the area where the earthquake hit Chile, the island of Santa Maria, near Concepcion (second largest city and one of the most damaged by the earthquake) could have been raised about two meters due to the tremor.

It could also be true. According to CNN collected, based on scientific estimates, if the Three Gorges Dam in China was filled, adding 40 cubic kilometers of water, produce, due to their weight, an increase in day length of 0.06 microseconds.