Scientists from The Australian National University (ANU) have made a groundbreaking discovery deep within Earth’s liquid core—a doughnut-shaped region thousands of kilometers below the surface. This finding sheds new light on the intricate dynamics of our planet’s magnetic field.
The structure, located at low latitudes and running parallel to the equator, has eluded detection until now, according to ANU seismologists.
Situated at the top of Earth’s outer core, where the liquid core meets the mantle, this newly identified doughnut-shaped region exhibits slower seismic wave velocities compared to the surrounding liquid outer core, as explained by Professor Hrvoje Tkalčić, co-author of the study and ANU geophysicist.
“Confined to the low latitudes, this doughnut-shaped region is a mysterious anomaly that adds a new dimension to our understanding of Earth’s core structure,” Professor Tkalčić remarked. “While we cannot pinpoint its exact thickness, we estimate it extends several hundred kilometers beneath the core-mantle boundary.”
For more information, you can visit the article on phys.org. Published on 2024-08-30 13:15:03.