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Thanks to a novel application of earthquake-reading technology, researchers have found that the Earth's inner core has an inner core of its own, which has surprising properties that could reveal information about our planet.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/02/150209113222.htm
The inner core, once thought to be a solid ball of iron, has some complex structural properties. The team found a distinct inner-inner core, about half the diameter of the whole inner core. The iron crystals in the outer layer of the inner core are aligned directionally, north-south. However, in the inner-inner core, the iron crystals point roughly east-west.
A research team from the University of Illinois and colleagues in China found Earth's inner core has an inner core of its own, with crystals aligned in a different direction.
Credit: Lachina Publishing Services
Journal Reference:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/02/150209113222.htm
The inner core, once thought to be a solid ball of iron, has some complex structural properties. The team found a distinct inner-inner core, about half the diameter of the whole inner core. The iron crystals in the outer layer of the inner core are aligned directionally, north-south. However, in the inner-inner core, the iron crystals point roughly east-west.
A research team from the University of Illinois and colleagues in China found Earth's inner core has an inner core of its own, with crystals aligned in a different direction.
Credit: Lachina Publishing Services
Journal Reference:
- Xiaodong Song et al. Equatorial anisotropy in the inner part of Earth’s inner core from autocorrelation of earthquake coda. Nature Geoscience, Feb 9, 2015
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