📷 Image Credits: Ahmedabad Mirror
The Earth’s inner core has been a subject of fascination for scientists, and a recent study has shed light on some intriguing findings. The study, led by a team from the University of Southern California (USC), confirms that the Earth’s inner core is backtracking and slowing down in relation to the planet’s surface.
This new research, published in Nature, provides unambiguous evidence that the inner core began to decrease its rotation speed around 2010, moving slower than the Earth’s surface. The inner core, a solid sphere made of iron and nickel, is suspended within the liquid outer core and anchored in place by gravity, forming one of the planet’s three layers along with the mantle and crust.
Researchers at USC, including Earth scientist John Vidale, analyzed seismic data from repeating earthquakes recorded between 1991 and 2023 around the South Sandwich Islands in the South Atlantic. By studying the seismic waves generated by these events, they could estimate the movement and position of the inner core.
The slowing down of the inner core’s rotation has implications for Earth’s surface, potentially altering the length of a day by fractions of a second. However, these changes are minuscule and may go unnoticed amidst the churning oceans and atmosphere.
The study suggests that the inner core’s slowing speed is influenced by the movement of the liquid iron outer core that generates Earth’s magnetic field, as well as gravitational forces from the dense regions of the mantle above.
While the exact consequences of the inner core’s movement remain uncertain, the research adds to our understanding of the Earth’s deep geological processes. As scientists continue to unravel the mysteries of the inner core, it is clear that the dance of this essential part of our planet is more intricate than previously thought.
