Mysterious deep-Earth seismic signature explained

New research on oxygen and iron chemistry under the extreme conditions found deep inside the Earth could explain a longstanding seismic mystery called ultralow velocity zones. Published in Nature, the findings could have ...

Iron snow ebb and flow may cause magnetic fields to come and go

Just as snow crystals form in the upper atmosphere, then fall to lower, warmer elevations and melt, scientists believe a phenomenon called iron snow happens in the molten iron cores of some planetary bodies. Cooling near ...

Beneath the Earth, ancient ocean floor likely surrounds the core

Through global-scale seismic imaging of Earth's interior, research led by The University of Alabama revealed a layer between the core and the mantle that is likely a dense, yet thin, sunk ocean floor, according to results ...

Mapping the chemistry of the Earth's mantle

The Earth's mantle makes up about 85% of the Earth's volume and is made of solid rock. But exactly what rock types is the mantle made of, and how are they distributed throughout the mantle? An international team of researchers—including ...

Estimating uranium and thorium abundance with geoneutrinos

A planet's interior heat comes from two principal sources: leftover energy amassed from collisions between planetesimals during the accretion of the planet and the subsequent decay of radioactive elements embedded within ...

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