Seismologists find evidence of light elements in Earth’s core
DEC 09, 2010
DOI: 10.1063/PT.5.024891
Nature : By recording distant earthquakes, seismologists George Helffrich of Bristol University and Satoshi Kaneshima of Kyushu University have deduced the presence of a solid layer of sulfur, oxygen, and other light elements that sits between Earth’s solid inner core of iron and its liquid outer core of iron. If the light elements were once distributed throughout the inner core, their upward passage as the core solidified could have provided the impetus needed to start Earth’s magnetic dynamo. That idea, as Nature‘s Geoff Brumfiel reports, awaits confirmation.
© 2010 American Institute of Physics
