Abstract
IT has been suggested that the gravitational coupling constant may have been weakening1–4 or the Earth's radius increasing5 over geological time. Either effect would cause a decrease in gravity (g) at the Earth's surface. The rate of any such decrease is likely to be roughly 1 part in 109 per year (ref. 6). But Faytel'son7,8 has reported g varying throughout large areas of the Soviet Union, with mean rates over a decade of roughly ±1 part in 107 per year. This rules out the possibility of direct measurements of any steady decrease, and to obtain mean rates of change over millions of years a gravity sensitive geological system is required. The effect of a declining gravity force on the compaction of sediments may provide a suitable indicator9.
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STEWART, A. Palaeogravity from the Compaction of Fine-grained Sediments. Nature 235, 322–324 (1972). https://doi.org/10.1038/235322a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/235322a0
