The Earth's core oscillates every 8 and a half years

This was proven by a group of researchers in a new study The Earth's core is not perfectly aligned with its mantle, resulting in a periodic oscillation: every 8.5 years, our planet's inner core oscillates around its axis of rotation. This change is caused by a slight misalignment between the Earth's inner core and the mantle.

Researchers from China have confirmed that there is a slight fluctuation that occurs almost every once in a while 8.5 years In the heart of our planet. The results of our inclinación estática de aproximadamente 0.17 grados enter the network and in the Tierra area: Los Angeles, which will resume in a new public studio that has been reciented in the Revista Nature Communications, relevant information has been found so late in the internet of the world. the earth.

Unknown sway

he The inner core of our planet It is a hard, dense ball, composed mainly of iron and nickel. It lies beneath the liquid outer core, covering a radius of about 1,200 km. This region plays a crucial role in Earth's geophysical processes, influencing the planet's magnetic field and contributing to the overall dynamics of Earth's interior.

Scientists seek to understand the properties and behavior of an organism in detail The inner core: This is necessary to unravel mysteries related to Earth's structure, seismic activity, and… magnetic field. This sector is located at a depth of about 2,896 kilometers below the Earth's surface.

according to condition Published in the journal Live Science, in an attempt to understand the precise performance of this core, researchers from Wuhan University in China analyzed it in a study Previous study In 2019, he published the movement of the Earth’s axis of rotation relative to its crust, which is known as Polar rotation. They detected a slight shift in polar motion that occurs approximately every 8.5 years, suggesting there may be a “wobble” in the inner core, similar to the motion of a rotating thrombus.

Internal changes and in the magnetic field

In the new study, the same team of researchers confirmed this cycle by measuring small changes in… All day long on the entire planet, It is a measurement that is controlled by the periodic movement of the Earth's rotation axis. They also compared this data with changes in polar motion they had previously identified.

The results indicate that the “sway” is caused by A The tilt is 0.17 degrees Between the Earth's inner core and the mantle, a fact that contradicts the traditional theory of the Earth's rotation: until now, it was believed that the Earth's axis of rotation The inner core The mantle's rotation axis coincided exactly.

Meanwhile, the new research shows that there is a noticeable change in density at the boundaries between the inner core and the surrounding layers. Moreover, the identified constant tendency and resulting oscillation may extend its influence to broader geophysical phenomena. according to condition Published in Phys.org, constant tilt can also significantly change the shape of the fluid core, leading to large differences in fluid motion and a corresponding change in Earth's geomagnetic field.

reference

The internal static tendency inferred from the intra-trade oscillation in the Earth's rotation. Yazhong An et al. Nature Communications (2023). doi:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-43894-9