Paleontological evidence reveals changes in the length of the synodic month, indicating fluctuating earth rotation rates.
The values of length of synodic month, obtained from tidally controlled periodical growth patterns in mollusks and stromatolites for several geologic periods, indicate that the deceleration rate of the earth's rotation has not been constant. Two breaks in slope, in the Pennsylvanian and Cretaceous, may be related to changes in distribution of continents, oceans, and adjacent shallow seas.
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Pannella et al. (1968) studied this question.
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