The researchers believe the silicon-rich “belly” could help explain the anomalies in seismologists’ observations.
By listening to the echoes of earthquakes bouncing off our planet, scientists can make predictions about what’s inside the Earth without tearing it apart. However, seismic waves often have inconsistencies that scientists don’t yet fully understand.
Scientists now suspect that the source of the anomalies lies in “pockets” of low-density material about 3,000 kilometers below the surface, between the liquid iron alloy outer core and the mantle.
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In a new study, scientists suggest that the silicon-rich “belly” rising from the outer core may explain some of the anomalies that researchers often encounter. The scientists point out that silicon makes the particles lighter than the surrounding liquid iron, causing drifts that cause the material to flow into the mantle and cause the unpredictable distortion of sound waves.
According to Suyu Fu, a geologist at the University of Tokyo, for the new study, he and his colleagues used a new method – in fact, they managed to recreate conditions inside the Earth’s outer core in the lab. To do this, the scientists used iron-silicon, which is placed in hydrogen-argon gas and then subjected to ultracompression in a diamond anvil cell.
The researchers note that their new method allows the argon not to react with the sample, but suppresses the diffusion of hydrogen into the diamond anvils, allowing the scientists to reach extreme conditions in the lab. When the scientists simulated pressure and temperature conditions in the outer core, they found that silicon-rich “snow” crystals form and then rise through the denser liquid iron, eventually depositing at the mantle-outer core interface. The researchers think this “belly” could be causing the anomalies that scientists noticed when scanning the deepest parts of the planet.
The significance of this work lies in the fact that the movement of the outer core actually controls our planet’s magnetic field, which in turn protects us from the effects of space and solar weather. Scientists believe that understanding what’s going on “at the heart of our planet” plays an important role in predicting how Earth’s magnetic field will continue to function in the future.
Previously Focus He wrote that a previously hidden structure had been discovered in the Earth’s core.
Source: Focus
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