New research from a team in Beijing has suggested that Earth’s inner core might be doing the planet equivalent of ‘a 180’. According to decades worth of seismic activity, the inner core might have recently paused, and even be slowly reversing.
“Here, we show surprising observations that indicate the inner core has nearly ceased its rotation in the recent decade and may be experiencing a turning-back in a multidecadal oscillation, with another turning point in the early 1970s,” the team write in their new paper.
Earth’s inner core is a bit of a wild card. Because the solid inner core is sitting in a larger outer liquid core, it isn’t completely beholden to what the outer planet (like the mantle) is up to.
Understanding how both the inner and outer core works is important, as both seem to relate to the generation of Earth’s magnetic field. The spin of the inner core is driven by the magnetic field generated in the outer core and balanced by the gravitational effects of the mantle.
Approved ~ FS
Klapaucius
Article URL : https://cosmosmagazine.com/earth/inner-core-earth-reversing-paused-decades/