Earth

Earth’s inner core rotates faster than the rest of the planet

Earth’s hot interior is composed of a solid inner core of iron and nickel that is surrounding by a fluid outer core. In 1996, scientists first speculated that the Earth’s inner core was rotating faster than the rest of the planet, but the idea was controversial. The rotation of the inner core is believed to be driven by circulating liquid caused by heat-induced convection currents in the outer core.

For the past decade, scientists have been further investigating the rotation of the Earth’s inner core by analyzing seismic waves that pass through the interior of the Earth. Earthquakes produce seismic waves.

Research published in Science in 2005 and more recently in the February 2011 issue of Nature Geoscience confirms that Earth’s inner core does indeed rotate faster than the rest of the planet. The 2011 estimates suggest that the extra spin may be on the order of 0.1 to 1 degree every million years, a much slower estimate than the values proposed in 1996 and 2005.

The hallmark of good science is that the results are repeatable. Now three scientific studies have confirmed the hypothesis that the Earth’s inner core rotates faster than the rest of the planet. Accurate geophysical information on the structure and movement of the Earth’s interior may help science to develop a more robust understanding of how the Earth generates a magnetic field that is essential to life on the planet.

Stefan Maus on measuring magnetic north

Stephen Giovannoni has discovered deepest yet underground life

Energy underfoot: Bringing up heat from inside Earth

Posted 
February 26, 2011
 in 
Earth

Like what you read?
Subscribe and receive daily news delivered to your inbox.

Your email address will only be used for EarthSky content. Privacy Policy
Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.

More from 

Deanna Conners

View All