According to a new study, scientists discovered a new ‘inner core’ in the center of the earth as a result of earthquakes.
By measuring the reflections of seismic waves experienced after earthquakes, scientists suggested that there may be a new layer or “inner core” in the center of the earth.
In the study published in the journal Nature Communications, geoscientists stated that the argument that there is a metallic core with a diameter of 644 kilometers at a depth of 1600 kilometers on Earth and that this core consists of an iron-nickel mixture gains weight.
By observing how seismic waves reflect off the layers, the researchers concluded that the Earth, contrary to popular belief, consists of five layers, not four, and that a solid and metal-hidden inner core lies within the water layer, the earth’s crust (Lithosphere), the magma layer (Pyrosphere) and the core layer (Barisphere).
May Shed Light on the Formation of the Planet
Seismologist, one of the study’s authors, at the Australian National University’s Earth Sciences Research School. “In this study, we report, for the first time, observations of seismic waves from powerful earthquakes bouncing back and forth from one side of the earth to the other up to five times,” Thanh-Son Phạm said in the message.
Confirmation of this theory could help geoscientists better understand how the planet formed, how its magnetic field developed and will continue to evolve.
Pham attributed the fact that this layer has not been detected until now, because it is very similar to the upper layer. The seismologist added that there is a large amount of iron-nickel alloy in the shell of the core, which they think is metal.
The researchers also state that the vibrational waves they used show that this new nucleus has an ‘anisotropic’ structure. This scientific term is defined as the fact that a substance has different properties depending on the angle at which it is approached.
Thanks to this structure, the researchers observed how fast seismic waves travel in different directions and observed that the innermost core changes the velocity of these waves differently from the layer above it. This speed difference enabled a new layer to be detected.
