Earth’s inner nucleus may have changed its shape, scientists say

The inner core of the earth may have changed its shape in the last 20 years, according to a group of scientists.

The inner core is thought to be usually shaped like a ball, but its edges are actually deformed by 100 m or more in height, said Prof. John Vidale, who was conducted by the research.

The Earth’s nucleus is the heart of our planet because it produces a magnetic field that protects life from combustion in solar radiation.

The inner core spins independently of the liquid outer core and from the rest of the planet. Without this movement, the country would die and become more like a barren Mars, who lost the magnetic field a billion years ago.

Changing the shape could happen where the edge of a solid inner core touches the extremely hot liquid metal outdoor core.

The study was published in the scientific journal Nature Geoscience. Scientists originally tried to discover why the inner core might have slowed down the slower pace than earthly rotation before they accelerated again in 2010.

Understanding the way the country’s nucleus acts is crucial for understanding the magnetic field that protects the planet and whether it can weaken or stop it.

The interior of our planet is an extremely mysterious place. The nucleus is about 4000 miles away from Earth’s surface and, despite the best efforts, scientists have not been able to reach it so far.

So, in order to try to unlock their secrets, some researchers measures a striking waves caused by earthquakes as they break through the planet.

The way they travel waves reveals what kind of material you go through, including in the inner core, and helps paint a picture of what lies under our feet.

The new analysis studied the patterns of seismic waves from an earthquake repeated in the same place between 1991 and 2023. This helped to show how the inner core changes over time.

Prof. Vidale, a terrestrial scientist at the University of Southern California, has found more evidence to support the theory that during those years the inner core slowed down around 2010.

But his team also found evidence of the variable form of the inner core.

It seems that it happens at the border of the inner and outer core, where the inner nucleus is near the melting point. The flow of fluid of the outer core, as well as withdrawal from the uneven gravity field, can cause deformation.

Prof. Hrvoje Tkalcic from the Australian National University, which was not involved in the studio, said that the work provides an “interesting concept that should be further explored.”

He said this could allow scientists to “give more information about some important material properties, such as the viscosity of the inner core, which is one of the least known quantities in modern science.”

Over time, the liquid outer nucleus freezes into a solid inner core, but it will be billions of years before it becomes completely solid.

That would almost certainly mean the end of life on Earth, but by then the planet was probably swallowed by the sun.

The work of Prof. Vidale is part of an investigation into a specialist around the world who explore and discuss what is happening at the core.

“In science, we generally try to look at things until we understand them,” says prof. Vidale.

“In all likelihood, this finding does not affect our daily life of one iota, but we really want to understand what is happening in the middle of the country,” he adds.

Changes may be associated with changes in Earth’s magnetic field.

“The magnetic field has been challenged in various times in the last few decades. We would like to know if it is related to what we see on the border of the inner core,” he said.

Prof. Vidale called on the caution that they were found in the ideas that the core would stop rotating soon.

He also added that there is still a lot of uncertainty.

“We are not 100% sure that we interpret these changes properly,” saying that the boundaries of scientific knowledge always change and, like many, if not all researchers, he was wrong in the past.