New research published in the scientific journal suggests that the Earth's inner core, previously thought to be spherical, has deformed its edges by over 100 meters in height over the past two decades. Scientists analyzed seismic waves from earthquakes between 1991 and 2023, revealing changes in the core's rotation speed and shape. These shifts, occurring at the boundary between the solid inner core and the liquid outer core, may be caused by the movement of the surrounding mantle or forces from the liquid outer core.
The inner core of the planet was thought to be shaped like a ball but it looks like the edges have deformed over 20 yearsThe Earth’s core was thought to be round like a ball but research shows that it has changed in 20 years. Photo: Gettyshows that the inner core of planet Earth has changed shape in the last two decades. Scientists have learnt that the inner core is not shaped like a ball as we used to think but has deformed edges of about 100m or more in height in places.
The core is the heart of the planet as it produces a magnetic field that protects life from burning up in the Sun's radiation. The inner core spins separately from the liquid outer core and from the rest of the planet. Without this motion, Earth would die and become more like barren Mars which lost its magnetic field billions of years ago.
According to their research, the scientists learnt that the Earth's inner core changes its rotation speed and shape over time. By studying seismic waves from repeated earthquakes, they found that the core rotated faster than the rest of the Earth for some time but then slowed down in recent decades.
EARTH CORE GEOPHYSICS SEISMIC WAVES INNER CORE DEFORMATION PLANETARY SCIENCE
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