Loch Ness, Like a Giant Level, Shows How Scotland Bends With the Tides
The Earth's crust bends and deforms in response to ocean tides, and this barely noticeable warping affects other bodies of water as well as the land, according to a new study. With exacting precision, scientists in the UK have measured the way Loch Ness sloshes around as all of Scotland bends under the strain of the North Sea's tides. The lake could be used like a level to gauge the planet's response to the back-and-forth movement of all its water. Eliminating the tidal effects of the sun and moon, not to mention hydroelectric facilities, scientists found the 21-mile-long loch surface goes up and down by 1.5 millimeters, according to a report published in the Journal of Geophysical Research. That's because the whole of Scotland heaves in response to ocean tides. All of Britain rises and falls by several centimeters every 12 hours and 25 minutes, the BBC says, as ocean water...