Chinese scientists have analyzed that the rotation of the earth’s core stopped between 2009 and 2011. The Earth’s core influences the maintenance of the Earth’s magnetic field, the speed of Earth’s rotation, and the length of the day.
A research team led by Professor Xiaodong Song of Peking University’s Department of Earth and Space Sciences analyzed earthquakes that occurred between 1995 and 2021 and published the findings in the international journal Nature Earth Science on the 23rd (local time).
Earth’s internal structure is divided into the crust, mantle, and core. The nucleus is divided into an outer core and an inner core. The outer core is a liquid metal and the inner core is a solid composed of iron and nickel. Scientists analyze the outer and inner cores as rotating in opposite directions. The outer core rotates from east to west, and the inner core rotates from west to east. In particular, it was found that the inner core rotates faster than the Earth rotates.
The team found that this inner core rotation stopped between 2009 and 2011. The research team said, “Changes were observed at various points across the globe,” and “we confirmed that this was not a local change on the surface of the inner core, but a global phenomenon.”
The research team analyzed that there is a cycle in the rotation of the inner core. It is analyzed that the rotation of the inner core stopped and restarted every 70 years. The research team said, “The rotation of the inner core seems to have stopped in the early 1970s.”
The research team predicted that the inner core would gradually begin to rotate westward from 2009 to 2011. The research team said, “It starts to accelerate, then decelerates again, and the rotation will stop once again in 2040,” and “a cycle of 70 years will come to an end.”
If such a cycle actually exists, as the research team analyzed, it could have a tangible effect deep in the Earth’s inner core. However, it is analyzed that the effect on the surface such as the earth’s crust will be insignificant. The research team analyzed, “It will cause only a small amount of turbulence on the surface or a subtle change in the Earth’s magnetic field.”
Professor Song said, “It is important to continuously record earthquake data to reveal the secret of the earth’s heart movement.”
