"It's almost science fiction": scientists have noticed changes in the shape of the Earth's inner core

Scientists who confirmed only a few months ago that the Earth's inner core has recently changed its rotation have made a new discovery about the deepest secrets of our planet - they have discovered changes in the shape of the inner core. "It's almost like science fiction," but scientists are trying to visualize what is happening inside our planet.

For decades, planetary scientists have suspected that the solid inner core deformed over time as it rotated. Now, researchers have found the first evidence of changes that have occurred over the past 20 years, CNN reports.

What is the Earth's inner layer and how does it affect the life of the planet

The Earth's inner layer is a hot solid metal ball surrounded by an outer core of liquid metal, experts say. Scientists have guessed that its shape changes over time as it rotates. For decades, planetary scientists have suspected that the solid inner core deformed over time.

The first signs of core deformation appeared in waves from earthquakes that were strong enough to reach the center of the Earth.

The research team found that the inner core once rotated faster than the Earth itself. But since about 2010, the rotation of the solid inner core has slowed down. And now it is rotating backwards relative to the rest of the planet, experts say.

The new study draws on earthquake data collected from 1991 to 2023. Previous work on core rotation has helped interpret variations in seismic wave height, identifying them as indicators of changes on the surface of the inner core.

"We can compare the signals we see when the inner core returns to the same position it was in at another time and find out if there are differences that cannot be explained by rotation," said John Vidale, co-author of the previous study and lead author of the new one, professor of earth sciences at Dornsife College, University of Southern California.

According to the scientists, the shape changes in the core may contain clues to the forces deep inside the Earth that power the magnetosphere, the invisible lines of magnetic energy that protect our planet from solar weather and deadly radiation.

It is known that of all the layers of the Earth, the inner core is the most remote and mysterious. This solid sphere of iron and nickel is about 70% the size of the Moon with a radius of approximately 1221 kilometers.

The temperature in the inner core reaches 5,400 degrees Celsius, and the pressure can reach 365 gigapascals (GPa), which is more than 3 million times the average atmospheric pressure of the Earth on land, experts say.

The beginning of the end

"It is almost science fiction to visualize what is happening on the surface of the inner core. After all, this place is very different from the one we are familiar with. But we can go there and learn more about it by looking at some of the latest observations," John Vidale emphasized.

According to the researchers, while the solid inner core of the Earth rotates, the molten outer core splashes. Their interaction generates magnetic energy that spins up, enveloping our planet in a magnetosphere.

But the liquid outer core is shrinking as the inner core sucks out the molten metal that surrounds it, Vidal said. It will take billions of years for the inner core to cool and solidify, and for the entire Earth's core to become a solid metal sphere.

"This will kill the magnetic field, because there will be no more moving iron below," the professor added.

However, this will happen in billions of years. And before that happens, the Earth will most likely be erased as our Sun will expand to a red giant and swallow the inner planets of the solar system, John Vidale summarized.

Only verified information is available on the OBOZ.UA Telegram channel and Viber. Do not fall for fakes!