Earth: a "hidden world" discovered in the inner core
Geophysicists have just understood that the inner core of the Earth, made up of iron, was ultimately... not so solid.
What if the Earth's core was not a solid ball ? This is what a team of researchers have just discovered, having published their unpublished study in the journalPhysics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors , this September 20. A revelation that could upset our understanding of the inner workings of the planet.
A core... not so strong
“ We have discovered a whole new hidden world , ” enthuses Jessica Irving, seismologist and co-author of the study.
Based on seismic waves from earthquakes, geophysicists have generated a "scanner" of the Earth and its interior. A scanner that invalidated previously accepted scientific assumptions about the inner core of the blue planet , in particular about its solidity. The latter would not be as solid as we thought.
?What is this "hidden world"
Indeed, if the scientific community has always considered that the core was mainly composed of a solid iron alloy , the data collected by geophysicists indicate precisely the opposite.
This famous "hidden world" freshly unearthed, would in fact be composed of different consistencies of iron, ranging from solid metal to semi-soft metal , and sometimes even liquid in certain places. " Gooey iron pockets " have even been spotted at surface level.
This joins the conclusions of another study, published this February 9 in Nature . The latter also suggests that the heart of the Earth would be composed of several elements (hydrogen, oxygen but also iron) in a "superionic" state.
The inner workings at stake
A discovery that therefore revolutionizes previous beliefs, thus offering a better understanding of the internal workings of the Earth. Already last June, researchers had revealed that the inner core did not grow equally depending on the geographical areas.
So, if there is still a long way to go to really grasp all that is happening in the heart of our planet, these discoveries enlighten us a little more each day. And if we know better the center of our planet and its relationship withthe Earth's magnetic field is that of the other planets which will soon be accessible to us.
Source: websites