Information Resource: Popular Science Communication (With Adaption)

       Australian continent slowly shifts 1 millimeter to the northwest and dips down 2 to 3 millimeters on its northwestern side during its summer. When winter comes, it shuffles back by the same amount, while its southeastern coast does the downward dipping. A new study shows that a large-scale water movement between the Southern and Northern hemispheres triggers these seasonal undulations. During the Australian summer, large amount of the ocean evaporates south of the equator. That loss of weight causes Earth’s crust to spring upward in the region, and in turn, drives Australia slightly toward the northwest. As the upward spring is greater closer to the South Pacific, the motion also causes the northwest downward slightly, relative to the southeast. After the snow melts in the northern hemisphere, the Oceania continent moves back toward the southeast and settles into its wintertime position.