Researchers have found another layer of Earth in the Earth’s inner core

There appears to be another layer within the Earth’s inner core. This indicates a new earthquake study.

CANBERRA – Although a Chinese research team recently discovered that Earth’s inner core appears to have stopped rotating relative to the mantle, the Earth’s interior has yet to be fully explored. To find out more about what is happening in the depths of our planet, researchers use seismic waves, which are generated during earthquakes and travel through the different layers of the Earth. They continue to encounter surprises, like a new layer of earth.

A research group from the Australian National University (ANU) in Canberra has now succeeded in finding evidence of a deep-earth phenomenon that scientists have suspected for years. “There was a suspicion of a metal ball inside the Earth’s inner core about 20 years ago,” explains Thanh Son Pham. “We now provide another line of evidence to support the hypothesis,” the seismologist said in one. communication.

An important discovery: in the inner core of the Earth there is a “ball” made of metal

Not long ago, researchers hypothesized that the Earth consisted of four different large layers: the crust, the mantle, the liquid outer core, and the solid inner core. The new study from Australia was in the journal Nature Communications published According to the research team, it provides evidence of a fifth layer – deep within the Earth.

To reach these findings, the research team examined about 200 earthquakes of at least magnitude 6 that occurred in the past decade. They specifically looked at how seismic waves move through Earth’s interior and found that the innermost part of Earth’s inner core changed the velocity of seismic waves differently than the layer above it.

The innermost core was recently discovered and is about 650 kilometers across

In fact, the newly discovered innermost part of Earth is similar to the previously known inner core that surrounds it, says researcher Pham. In the study, Earth’s newly discovered innermost core is described as a “ball” about 400 miles in diameter. According to the research team, both this inner core and the layer that surrounds it is made of an alloy of iron and nickel with traces of other elements.

Pham explains that “the transition from the innermost (solid) sphere to the outer shell of the inner core (also a hard shell) appears gradual rather than sharp” CNN. “So we can’t see it through direct reflections of seismic waves.”

The inner core allows a glimpse into the planet’s past

Exploring the interior of Earth’s inner core could help scientists learn more about Earth’s past and evolution. “This inner core is like a time capsule of Earth’s evolutionary history — it’s a fossilized record of our planet’s past,” explains Hrvoje Tkalic, who worked with Pham on the study. The two researchers know that the Earth’s interior has not yet been fully explored. “There are still many unanswered questions about the deep Earth’s core, which could solve the mystery of our planet’s formation,” Tkalic stresses. (unpaid bill)