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Earth’s core

Photograph of an outcrop of the North American Midcontinent Rift showing dark gray rocks enclosing a light-colored rock—the target sample in this study. In the foreground stands coauthor Nick Swanson-Hysell, amid green grasses along the base of the cliff.
Posted inNews

Swinging Strength of Earth’s Magnetic Field Could Signal Inner Core Formation

by Alka Tripathy-Lang 22 August 202230 September 2022

The magnetic record stored in rocks documents the liquid core’s behavior and possibly when the inner core formed. Whether it formed half a billion or more than a billion years ago, however, is up for debate.

Artistic rendition of Earth with a section removed, exposing yellow, orange, and red layers
Posted inNews

Earth’s Wobbly Inner Core Illuminated by Nuclear Explosions

by Jennifer Schmidt 21 July 20221 August 2022

Shock waves from Cold War era nuclear tests gave seismologists a glimpse of the inner core. Its wobbly rotation could explain phenomena such as the periodic change in the length of a day.

A red rock tower in front of a backdrop of cloudy sky
Posted inFeatures

Is Earth’s Core Rusting?

by Jiuhua Chen and Shanece S. Esdaille 25 April 20223 January 2023

If subduction carries hydrous minerals deep into Earth’s mantle, they may “rust” the iron outer core, forming vast sinks of oxygen that can later be returned to the atmosphere.

A back-scattered electron image of an experimental charge showing a miniaturized model of the core-mantle boundary equilibrated at pressure-temperature conditions thought to prevail during core formation.
Posted inEditors' Highlights

New Results Deepen the Mystery of Earth’s Early Magnetic Field

by Carolina Lithgow-Bertelloni 14 April 202214 March 2023

How was Earth’s early magnetic field produced? New experimental results and modeling show that the energy source could not have come from exsolution of lithophile elements from the core.

Figure 2 from Wang and Tkalčić [2021]
Posted inEditors' Highlights

Observation of Shear Wave Anisotropy in the Earth’s Inner Core

by Daoyuan Sun 5 January 20228 July 2024

Coda-correlation wavefields reveal direction-dependent inner-core shear-wave speed, ~5 s faster in directions oblique to the Earth’s rotation axis than directions parallel to the equatorial plane.

Concept art of the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellite
Posted inNews

Can NASA’s Gravity Satellites Detect Motions in Earth’s Core?

by Megan Kalomiris 15 December 202120 April 2022

Measurements of our planet’s gravitational field could expose processes in the fluid outer core—if scientists can decipher the signals.

Posted inResearch Spotlights

长期海平面变化周期影响未来海平面上升预测

Sarah Stanley, Science Writer by Sarah Stanley 26 October 202126 October 2021

新的研究证实,海平面存在有规律的、长期的波动,这可能是由地核的活动引起的。

The Bayside Picnic Area on Assateague Island National Seashore after Hurricane Sandy
Posted inResearch Spotlights

Long-Term Sea Level Cycle Affects Predictions of Future Rise

Sarah Stanley, Science Writer by Sarah Stanley 27 September 202126 October 2021

New research confirms the existence of a regular, long-term fluctuation in sea level, perhaps caused by processes in Earth’s core.

Satellite image of Earth focused on the Arctic
Posted inNews

How Geodynamo Models Churn the Outer Core

by Alka Tripathy-Lang 16 February 20214 October 2021

New simulations of Earth’s outer core have reproduced magnetic fields that—for the first time—match paleomagnetic data collected from rocks.

A researcher looks closely at a rocky cliff near the shoreline on Saint Helena.
Posted inNews

A Robust Proxy for Geomagnetic Reversal Rates in Deep Time

by Alka Tripathy-Lang 14 December 202027 January 2023

The strength of Earth’s magnetic field in the distant past can tell scientists whether the planet’s magnetic poles were steady or prone to frequent reversals.

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