A proposal to change the leap-second adjustments to UTC

Published

June 3, 2024

Author(s)

Judah Levine, Patrizia TAVELLA

Abstract

The definition of UTC in 1972 balanced the needs of the time and frequency community for a universal time scale that was traceable to the definition of frequency in the SI system of units with the needs of the astronomical community for a time scale that was closely linked to UT1, a time scale related to the rotation of Earth. The balance between these two considerations has changed very significantly since 1972, and this has prompted discussions to change the method of linking UT1 and UTC. The current proposal is to increase the maximum tolerance between the two scales to a value larger value than the current limit of 0.9 s, while still maintaining a link between them. There is no solution that can satisfy all the requirements of the various user communities. We present important constraints that should be satisfied by the link between the two scales. These constraints do not uniquely define the solution, but a solution that violates these constraints should be considered only if it has some other very strong advantage. Our proposal addresses the difficulties that arise from the irregular and unpredictable need for a leap event by suggesting an increase in the tolerance between the two scales and an algorithmic adjustment process.

Citation

Metrologia

Pub Type

Journals

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Keywords

Coordinated Universal Time, Leap seconds, UT1, UTC

Citation

Levine, J. and Tavella, P. (2024), A proposal to change the leap-second adjustments to UTC, Metrologia, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=956869 (Accessed February 14, 2025)