Inner core differential motion confirmed by earthquake waveform doublets

We analyzed 18 high-quality waveform doublets with time separations of up to 35 years in the South Sandwich Islands region, for which the seismic signals have traversed the inner core as PKP(DF). The doublets show a consistent temporal change of travel times at up to 58 stations in and near Alaska, and they show a dissimilarity of PKP(DF) coda. Using waveform doublets avoids artifacts of earthquake mislocations and contamination from small-scale heterogeneities. Our results confirm that Earth's inner core is rotating faster than the mantle and crust at about 0.3 degrees to 0.5 degrees per year.     

Rotation and Magnetism of Earth's Inner Core

Three-dimensional numerical simulations of the geodynamo suggest that a super- rotation of Earth's solid inner core relative to the mantle is maintained by magnetic coupling between the inner core and an eastward thermal wind in the fluid outer core. This mechanism, which is analogous to a synchronous motor, also plays a fundamental role in the generation of Earth's magnetic field.     

Variable azimuthal anisotropy in Earth's lowermost mantle

A persistent reversal in the expected polarity of the initiation of vertically polarized shear waves that graze the D' layer (the layer at the boundary between the outer core and the lower mantle of Earth) in some regions starts at the arrival time of horizontally polarized shear waves. Full waveform modeling of the split shear waves for paths beneath the Caribbean requires azimuthal anisotropy at the base of the mantle. Models with laterally coherent patterns of transverse isotropy with the hexagonal symmetry axis of the mineral phases tilted from the vertical by as much as 20 degrees are consistent with the data. Small-scale convection cells within the mantle above the D' layer may cause the observed variations by inducing laterally variable crystallographic or shape-preferred orientation in minerals in the D' layer.     

Inner Core Anisotropy Due to the Magnetic Field--induced Preferred Orientation of Iron

Anisotropy of the inner core of the Earth is proposed to result from the lattice preferred orientation of anisotropic iron crystals during their solidification in the presence of a magnetic field. The resultant seismic anisotropy is related to the geometry of the magnetic field in the core. This hypothesis implies that the observed anisotropy (fast velocity along the rotation axis) indicates a strong toroidal field in the core, which supports a strong field model for the geodynamo if the inner core is made of hexagonal close-packed iron.     

Models of the Earth's Core

Combined inferences from seismology, high-pressure experiment and theory, geomagnetism, fluid dynamics, and current views of terrestrial planetary evolution lead to models of the earth's core with the following properties. Core formation was contemporaneous with earth accretion; the core is not in chemical equilibrium with the mantle; the outer core is a fluid iron alloy containing significant quantities of lighter elements and is probably almost adiabatic and compositionally uniform; the more iron-rich inner solid core is a consequence of partial freezing of the outer core, and the energy release from this process sustains the earth's magnetic field; and the thermodynamic properties of the core are well constrained by the application of liquid-state theory to seismic and laboratory data.     

The Melting Curve of Iron to 250 Gigapascals: A Constraint on the Temperature at Earth's Center

The melting curve of iron, the primary constituent of Earth's core, has been measured to pressures of 250 gigapascals with a combination of static and dynamic techniques. The melting temperature of iron at the pressure of the core-mantle boundary (136 gigapascals) is 4800 +/- 200 K. whereas at the inner core-outer core boundary (330 gigapascals), it is 7600 +/- 500 K. Corrected for melting point depression resulting from the presence of impurities, a melting temperature for iron-rich alloy of 6600 K at the inner core-outer core boundary and a maximum temperature of 6900 K at Earth's center are inferred. This latter value is the first experimental upper bound on the temperature at Earth's center, and these results imply that the temperature of the lower mantle is significantly less than that of the outer core.     

The structure of iron in Earth's inner core

Earth's solid inner core is mainly composed of iron (Fe). Because the relevant ultrahigh pressure and temperature conditions are difficult to produce experimentally, the preferred crystal structure of Fe at the inner core remains uncertain. Static compression experiments showed that the hexagonal close-packed (hcp) structure of Fe is stable up to 377 gigapascals and 5700 kelvin, corresponding to inner core conditions. The observed weak temperature dependence of the c/a axial ratio suggests that hcp Fe is elastically anisotropic at core temperatures. Preferred orientation of the hcp phase may explain previously observed inner core seismic anisotropy.     

A Laboratory Model for Convection in Earth's Core Driven by a Thermally Heterogeneous Mantle

Thermal convection experiments in a rapidly rotating hemispherical shell suggest a model in which the convection in Earth's liquid outer core is controlled by a thermally heterogeneous mantle. Experiments show that heterogeneous boundary heating induces an eastward flow in the core, which, at a sufficiently large magnitude, develops into a large-scale spiral with a sharp front. The front separates the warm and cold regions in the core and includes a narrow jet flowing from the core-mantle boundary to the inner-core boundary. The existence of this front in the core may explain the Pacific quiet zone in the secular variation of the geomagnetic field and the longitudinally heterogeneous structure of the solid inner core.     

Elastic anisotropy of Earth's inner core

Earth's solid-iron inner core is elastically anisotropic. Sound waves propagate faster along Earth's spin axis than in the equatorial plane. This anisotropy has previously been explained by a preferred orientation of the iron alloy hexagonal crystals. However, hexagonal iron becomes increasingly isotropic on increasing temperature at pressures of the inner core and is therefore unlikely to cause the anisotropy. An alternative explanation, supported by diamond anvil cell experiments, is that iron adopts a body-centered cubic form in the inner core. We show, by molecular dynamics simulations, that the body-centered cubic iron phase is extremely anisotropic to sound waves despite its high symmetry. Direct simulations of seismic wave propagation reveal an anisotropy of 12%, a value adequate to explain the anisotropy of the inner core.     

Overtones of Free Oscillations and the Structure of the Earth's Interior

Identification of 82 percent of all possible spheroidal overtones with greater than 300 seconds increases the resolving power of the set of gross searth data. Results of inversion indicate a change of composition in the deepest 500 kilometers of the mantle. The assumption that the inner core is rigid is required to satisfy simultaneously the data on free oscillations and travel times.     

The electrical conductivity of post-perovskite in Earth's D' layer

Recent discovery of a phase transition from perovskite to post-perovskite suggests that the physical properties of Earth's lowermost mantle, called the D' layer, may be different from those of the overlying mantle. We report that the electrical conductivity of (Mg0.9Fe0.1)SiO3 post-perovskite is >10(2) siemens per meter and does not vary greatly with temperature at the conditions of the D' layer. A post-perovskite layer above the core-mantle boundary would, by electromagnetic coupling, enhance the exchange of angular momentum between the fluid core and the solid mantle, which can explain the observed changes in the length of a day on decadal time scales. Heterogeneity in the conductivity of the lowermost mantle is likely to depend on changes in chemistry of the boundary region, not fluctuations in temperature.     

A model for plate tectonic evolution of mantle layers

In plate tectonic theory, lithosphere that descends into the mantle has a largely derivative composition, because it is produced as a refractory residue by partial melting, and cannot be resorbed readily by the parent mantle. We suggest that lithosphere sinks through the asthenosphere, or outer mantle, and accumulates progressively beneath to form an accretionary mesosphere, or inner mantle. According to this model, there is an irreversible physicochemical evolution of the mantle and its layers. We make the key assumption that the rate at which mass has been transferred from the lithosphere to the mesosphere is proportional to the rate of radiogenic heat production. Calculations of mass transfer with time demonstrate that the entire mass of the present mesosphere could have been produced in geologically reasonable times (3 x 10(9) to 4.5 x 10(9) years). The model is consistent with the generation of the continental crust during the last 3 x 1O(9) years and predicts an end to plate tectonic behavior within the next 10(9) years.     

Energetics of honeybee swarm thermoregulation

Honeybee swarms regulate their core temperature at a high set point (near 36 degrees C) and the mantle at a low set point (near 15 degrees C). The temperature gradient from core to mantle permits considerable energy economy, and it is abolished only shortly before swarm takeoff.     

Percolation of core melts at lower mantle conditions

Experiments at high pressure and temperature to determine the dihedral angle of core melts in lower mantle phases yielded a value of approximately 71 degrees for perovskite-dominated matrices. This angle, although greater than the 60 degrees required for completely efficient percolation, is considerably less than the angles observed in mineral matrices at upper mantle pressure-temperature conditions in experiments. In other words, molten iron alloy can flow much more easily in lower mantle mineralogies than in upper mantle mineralogies. Accordingly, although segregation of core material by melt percolation is probably not feasible in the upper mantle, core formation by percolation may be possible in the lower mantle.     

An observation of PKJKP: inferences on inner core shear properties

The seismic phase PKJKP, which traverses the inner core as a shear wave and would provide direct evidence for its solidity, has been difficult to detect. Using stacked broadband records from the Grafenberg array in Germany, we documented a high signal-to-noise phase, the arrival time and slowness of which agree with theoretical predictions for PKJKP. The back azimuth of this arrival is also consistent with predictions for PKJKP, as is the comparison with a pseudoliquid inner core model. Envelope modeling of the PKJKP waveform implies a shear velocity gradient with depth in the inner core that is slightly larger than that in the preliminary reference Earth model.     

Yellowstone: seismic evidence for a chemical mantle plume

Arrivals of P waves from a recent event at the Nevada Test Site, recorded at a distance of 15.3 degrees , passed beneath the Yellowstone caldera at depths of 200 and 400 kilometers. The travel time anomalies are modeled by a vertical cylindrical structure with a high-velocity core and a low-velocity collar as compared with the more normal mantle. The velocity structure and vertical extent of this feature are consistent with a chemical mantle plume beneath the Yellowstone caldera.     

High-Pressure Elasticity of Iron and Anisotropy of Earth's Inner Core

A first principles theoretical approach shows that, at the density of the inner core, both hexagonal [hexagonal close-packed (hcp)] and cubic [face-centered-cubic (fcc)] phases of iron are substantially elastically anisotropic. A forward model of the inner core based on the predicted elastic constants and the assumption that the inner core consists of a nearly perfectly aligned aggregate of hcp crystals shows good agreement with seismic travel time anomalies that have been attributed to inner core anisotropy. A cylindrically averaged aggregate of fcc crystals disagrees with the seismic observations.     

Magnetic Collapse in Transition Metal Oxides at High Pressure: Implications for the Earth

Magnetic collapse in transition metal ions is predicted from first-principles computations at pressures reached in the Earth's lower mantle and core. Magnetic collapse would lead to marked changes in geophysically important properties, such as elasticity and conductivity, and also to different geochemical behavior, such as element partitioning, than estimated by extrapolating low-pressure data, and thus change the understanding of Earth's structure and evolution. Magnetic collapse results from band widening rather than from changes in crystal field splitting under pressure. Seismic anomalies in the outer core and the lowermost mantle may be due to magnetic collapse of ferrous iron, dissolved in iron liquid in the outer core, and in solution in magnesiowustite in the lowermost mantle.     

Localized temporal change of the Earth's inner core boundary

Compressional waves of an earthquake doublet (two events occurring in the South Sandwich Islands on 1 December 1993 and 6 September 2003), recorded at three seismic stations in Russia and Kyrgyzstan and reflected off Earth's inner core boundary, arrived at least from 39 to 70 milliseconds earlier in the 2003 event than in the 1993 event. Such changes indicate that Earth's inner core radius enlarged locally beneath middle Africa by 0.98 to 1.75 kilometers between the times of these two events. Changes of the inner core radius may be explained by either a differential motion of the inner core, assuming that irregularities are present at the inner core boundary and fixed to the inner core, or a rapid growth of the inner core by this amount.     

Gravity field and internal structure of Mercury from MESSENGER

Radio tracking of the MESSENGER spacecraft has provided a model of Mercury's gravity field. In the northern hemisphere, several large gravity anomalies, including candidate mass concentrations (mascons), exceed 100 milli-Galileos (mgal). Mercury's northern hemisphere crust is thicker at low latitudes and thinner in the polar region and shows evidence for thinning beneath some impact basins. The low-degree gravity field, combined with planetary spin parameters, yields the moment of inertia C/MR(2) = 0.353 ± 0.017, where M and R are Mercury's mass and radius, and a ratio of the moment of inertia of Mercury's solid outer shell to that of the planet of C(m)/C = 0.452 ± 0.035. A model for Mercury's radial density distribution consistent with these results includes a solid silicate crust and mantle overlying a solid iron-sulfide layer and an iron-rich liquid outer core and perhaps a solid inner core.