![]() Song and Yang estimate that the switches occur every seven decades or so. In other words, the inner core’s rotation seems to vary on a decade-long timescale, with it speeding up, slowing down and possible reversing course over a period of time. “The rotation is not purely steady, with a significant rate in the earlier decades but a much smaller rate in the most recent decade and in the 1960s to 70s,” they write in the study. Before that, though, they found that another possible slowing down or reversal event may have occurred in Earth’s inner core in the early 1970s. However, the study’s results revealed that a larger, decade-long pattern may be at play.īy examining data that stretches back to the 1960s, Yang and Song discovered that the rotation of Earth’s inner core was consistent from the late 1970s to the early 2000s. Since scientists are still learning more about Earth’s core, it is difficult to uncover how it has operated in the past. These findings may suggest a larger pattern at work. ![]() ![]() These differences in spin are likely due to the gravitational effect that Earth’s mantle has on the inner core, as well as the magnetic field that is generated by Earth’s outer core. Prior to these new findings, Earth’s core was thought to have been spinning at a faster rate than Earth’s crust. “ observations suggest not only a pause, but also a turning-back of the rotation by a small amount.” “We show surprising observations that indicate the inner core has nearly ceased its rotation in the recent decade,” writes researchers Yi Yang and Xiaodong Song in their study. Its rotation has slowed significantly, and this slowing began all the way back in 2009. The inner core’s rotation may be slowing down and reversing course.Īccording to the results of the study, which was published in Nature Geoscience, Earth’s core may be reversing its rotation. Here are three things you need to know about their study, as well as what the results mean for us on the surface. Now, researchers at Peking University in China have released new findings about Earth’s inner core: its spin rate has slowed. It possesses many unique qualities - including its own spin. ![]() The core of our planet sits just over 1,800 miles below the surface and exists as a ball of seething hot metal, specifically iron and nickel. Earth’s core has long been a place of mystery to scientists.
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