Scientists Discover Strange Signal Coming From Deep Within Earth’s Core
Researchers may have recently solved a years-long mystery. In 2019, scientists noticed a strange wobble happening deep below our planet’s surface that would oscillate around every 8.5 years. Now, a team of scientists has determined that this phenomenon may be due to the Earth’s core being at an angle.
Earth’s Density
In other words, the Earth’s core may be denser in the northwestern hemisphere, causing it to tilt a small degree away from the planet’s mantle.
The possible explanation for the wobble was published in the Nature Communications journal, and it has some interesting implications. Especially since we once assumed that the core has been rotating on the same axis as the mantle.
Leading To The Wobble
With traditional knowledge of Earth’s core being challenged, it will be interesting to see what else is found to support this theory.
However, it does make sense if you’re trying to explain the wobble. As the study explains, the change in density where the core would meet the mantle could certainly lead to the wobble that was detected in 2019.
Geomagnetic Fields
Beyond explaining the wobble, this theory about the Earth’s core could also hold some implications for the geomagnetic field of Earth.
It would suggest that we don’t know the inter dynamics between the different layers of Earth as well as we thought (which was already incomplete knowledge). It will certainly be intriguing to see what else they can uncover by doing more research into the different layers of Earth.
Seismic Waves
Of course, studying Earth’s core is by no means an easy feat. Since we can’t directly study the core, we have to rely on sophisticated instruments that can read seismic data and conduct various other readings and analyses.
Typically, geoscientists will look at seismic waves when conducting core research.
This is because the velocity and frequency of seismic waves can indicate changes in pressure, temperature, and composition in Earth’s core. It’s how we first determined the structure of the core. By studying seismic waves, we were able to determine that the Earth had a core in the first place and that there was a change from a liquid to a solid.
Hollow Earth?
The fact that Earth’s core is so hard to study directly has also captured the collective imagination of humanity over the years, notably in fictional tales like Jules Vernes’ Journey to the Center of the Earth.
Most recently, the fictional concept of Hollow Earth, the idea that Earth is hollow or contains substantial space within, was explored on screen in the fun but silly Godzilla vs Kong.
The recent trailer for Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire certainly hints that we’ll be exploring more of this fictional Hollow Earth in the future.
Mysteries Of The Earth’s Core
While the idea of a Hollow Earth is silly, it definitely shows how interested people are in the mysteries of Earth’s core.
Hopefully, studies like these will continue to show us how our core works and its dynamics with our planet. In the meantime, make sure to stay tuned for more science news.
Source: Nature.com
