Scientists 'Surprised' by Findings in Earth's Inner Core

Scientists have peered into the Earth's inner core and are surprised at what they found.

The Earth's core is the dense center of the planet that burns at 9,392 degrees Fahrenheit. Without it, life on Earth would not be possible. This is because it generates the Earth's magnetic field. The core also holds invaluable clues as to how Earth developed.

But just how the core grew and formed is a mystery. The Earth's surface has been thoroughly studied, but the inside of the planet is a very different research area. And therefore, is much more difficult to assess.

This is what seismologists from the University of Utah are trying to crack.

Measuring seismic waves from naturally occurring earthquakes is the best way to gain clues as to what is happening in the Earth's inner core. From assessing these waves, the seismologists discovered that the inner core was not actually the homogenous mass that scientists assumed it was.

It is in fact made up of many different textures, almost like fabric, Guanning Pang, a former Ph.D. student in the university's Department of Geology and Geophysics said in a press release. Pang worked on the study as part of his Ph.D. dissertation and it has now been published in Nature.

Utah seismologist Keith Koper, who oversaw the study, told Newsweek that he was also particularly "surprised" by how "pervasive the scattered energy from the inner core was."

"It's a very tiny, subtle signal but wherever we looked with these seismic arrays it would pop out once we had stacked enough data. So, it's not just a few patches of the inner core that have the rough fabric, it's the whole thing," Koper said.

The seismic data used by the research team was recorded in several areas around the world, include two in Antarctica, and Pinedale, Wyoming. This data is collected from boreholes drilled 32 feet down in granite formations.

Still, the signal was hard to decipher. Koper said in a press release that the signal that fed back from the core is "really tiny" meaning they were looking for a "needle in a haystack."

"I think our results will influence the next generation of geodynamical models of the core and specifically the origin of the innermost inner core, which appears to be rougher and more heterogeneous than the rest of the inner core," Koper told Newsweek. "But, I also hope our work highlights these wonderful seismic arrays that are part of the international monitoring system, and encourages other seismologists to use them for basic research."

Do you have a tip on a science story that Newsweek should be covering? Do you have a question about the Earth's inner core? Let us know via science@newsweek.com.