New discovery: Iron snow rains are happening inside the Earth's core

The recently published report in JGR Solid Earth says that, at the deepest and most mysterious place of our planet, the Earth's core is a permanent and intense rain of iron snow.

A research team from the University of Texas (Austin, USA) analyzed the signal of seismic waves, created by earthquakes, ripples inside the Earth to find evidence of a mysterious 'hailstorm'. hidden in the core of the planet.

The scientists discovered that there was a confusing discrepancy between the actual seismic wave data recorded by seismic observation stations around the world and the wave data calculated from the Earth model in the room. experiment. It is this revealed that the Earth's core is not calm.

New discovery: Iron snow rains are happening inside the Earth's core Picture 1

The structure of the Earth's core consists of 2 parts, the outer core melts with iron, nickel and some light metal elements, while the inner core is tough.

The inner core of the Earth is experiencing a hail of iron snow falling from the outer core at a distance of several hundred kilometers. Specifically, iron particles from the outer core melt down the inner core surface, then cool down and form a thick layer inside the core.

New discovery: Iron snow rains are happening inside the Earth's core Picture 2

According to Professor Jung-Fu Lin, co-author of the study, this phenomenon has explained a process occurring on rocky planets like the Earth that scientists have long discovered. That is, according to the evolution of the planet, the molten outer core cools and shrinks; while the inner core is growing.

The new research results are a big step in planetary science, giving scientists a new perspective, understanding more about how the Earth and other planets are formed and developed.

1. The Earth is losing mass despite receiving 43 tons of dust from other planets every day
2. What bad thing would happen to Earth if the sea was no longer salty?