Something strange is happening in the exact center of our planet.
Russian doll
Researchers have discovered a new layer, deeper within our planet’s inner core, a 400-mile-long solid ball of metal that responds to shock wave feedback from earthquakes in an unexpected way.
As detailed in a new sheet Published this week in the magazine Nature Communicationsa team of two seismologists from the Australian National University found that the Earth has a “deeper inner core”, which may have formed after a “significant global event in the past”.
“It’s clear that the innermost core has something different from the outer layer,” said lead author Thanh Son Pham, a seismologist at the Australian National University, To say Washington Post. “We think they are atoms [packed] In these two regions they are slightly different.”
House made
The research could shed light on how our planet evolved billions of years ago and how Earth’s magnetic field evolved over time, transforming the planet from an inhospitable rock into a habitable home.
“The geocentric study is not just an object of academic curiosity, but something that sheds light on the very evolution of life on the surface of our planet,” write the two researchers. ask for Conversation.
They explained that, in simple terms, convection currents from deep within the surface generate the geomagnetic field, which in turn “protects life on Earth from harmful cosmic radiation.”
Although still made of the same material as the inner core, this inner core has different properties that determine the speed at which seismic waves travel through it, depending on the direction of motion, a phenomenon known as anisotropy.
It has already been noted that seismic waves on Earth move faster when they are parallel to our planet’s rotation. Surprisingly, however, that’s not the case with this newfound inner core, the researchers found, suggesting that these waves move faster at a different angle.
The researchers suggest that a “significant global event” such as a massive tectonic shift hundreds of millions of years ago may have shaped this mineral ball.
Given that it may be what allowed life on Earth to flourish, it’s a vital piece of the puzzle and a fascinating glimpse into our planet’s ancient history.
See more information: Scientists have discovered a new core at the center of the Earth [The Washington Post]
More about the inner core: Scientists Claim Earth’s Core Is a Strange New State
