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Thermochemical flows couple the Earth's inner core growth to mantle heterogeneity

Author

Listed:
  • Julien Aubert

    (Dynamique des Fluides Géologiques,)

  • Hagay Amit

    (Géomagnétisme, Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris, Université Paris-Diderot, INSU/CNRS, 4, Place Jussieu, 75252, Paris cedex 05, France)

  • Gauthier Hulot

    (Géomagnétisme, Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris, Université Paris-Diderot, INSU/CNRS, 4, Place Jussieu, 75252, Paris cedex 05, France)

  • Peter Olson

    (Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21218, USA)

Abstract

How the other hemisphere lives The uppermost 100 km of the Earth's inner core is subject to an east–west divide: seismic waves travel more rapidly and are attenuated more severely in the eastern than in the western hemisphere, and the west is more anisotropic (that is, seismic waves travel at different speeds in different directions) than the eastern hemisphere. The origin of this hemispherical dichotomy has remained enigmatic. Aubert et al. now show that a model incorporating thermochemical convection and dynamo action can account for these effects by producing a large-scale, long-term outer core flow that couples the heterogeneity of the inner core with that of the lower mantle.

Suggested Citation

  • Julien Aubert & Hagay Amit & Gauthier Hulot & Peter Olson, 2008. "Thermochemical flows couple the Earth's inner core growth to mantle heterogeneity," Nature, Nature, vol. 454(7205), pages 758-761, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:454:y:2008:i:7205:d:10.1038_nature07109
    DOI: 10.1038/nature07109
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