A team at the Australian National University (ANU) have found evidence of a new layer present in the interior of the Earth’s core.
Jakarta: Researchers are still discovering new things about Earth, which is the home of mankind. A team at the Australian National University (ANU) have found evidence of a new layer present in the interior of the Earth’s core.
This innermost core is a ball of iron and nickel alloy, explains professor Hrvoje Tkal?i?, which is the fossil record of the history of Earth’s ancient civilizations. Until now, science has only recognized four layers in the Earth’s core, consisting of the crust, mantle, outer core and inner core.
Collect Engadget, scientists discovered the hidden core by studying seismic waves that travel back and forth across the entire diameter of the Earth up to five times. For your information, previous studies have seen this only as a single reflection.
The seismic waves probed a place near the center at an angle suggesting a different crystal structure in the deepest layers. Effectively, the alloy skews the travel time of the waves as they pass through them.
The findings open up new ways to investigate the inner core, according to lead author Thanh-Son Pham. The ANU also believes that the findings in the Earth’s innermost core indicate past events that had a significant impact on the planet’s core.
As the researchers explained to The Washington Post, this finding also helps explain the formation of Earth’s magnetic field. This field plays a large role in supporting life, as it protects Earth from harmful radiation and keeps water moving into space.
This insight is also said to help research related to other worlds. Mars is believed to be a barren planet because it lost its magnetic field roughly four billion years ago, without protection against the solar wind and dust storms that washed away the atmosphere and oceans.
In the meantime, exoplanet hunters can use this knowledge to search for potential planets to live on. The presence of an Earth-like core structure does not guarantee any indication of survival, but may play a role in narrowing down planetary candidates.
Editor : Mohammad Mamduh
