Something is happening inside the Earth. Our planet’s core has almost stopped spinning

Fortunately, this does not necessarily mean impending disaster. At least that’s what the authors of the post suggest Natural Earth Sciences. Interestingly, the world of science learned about the rotation of the Earth’s inner core in relation to the surrounding mantle only in 1996. Previously, it was assumed that the Earth’s inner core rotates separately from the rest of the planet, although these predictions were based on an uncertain model. to the Earth’s magnetic field.

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While the original results indicated that the inner core completes a full cycle every 400 years, the latest estimates suggest otherwise. In addition, earlier scientists searched for the source of this motion in the electromagnetic moment and gravitational pull. Over time, they concluded, the rotation must be slower—perhaps taking up to 1,000 years to do so.

The Earth’s core seems to be slowing down lately – possibly reaching a complete standstill

In 1996, the scientists responsible for discovering the rotation of Earth’s core tracked readouts of seismic waves from frequent earthquakes that passed through the inner core. These waves extended from the South Atlantic Ocean to Alaska and were documented between 1967 and 1995. Assuming the Earth’s inner core is motionless, the shock waves should follow the same path. However, it accelerated between 1967 and 1995.

A re-analysis of this data and its comparison with the latest data showed that the Earth’s inner core has slowed down. Perhaps to the point where it is currently motionless and will soon change direction. According to the paper’s authors, a slight imbalance in the electromagnetic and gravitational forces should be sufficient to slow and, over time, reverse the direction of rotation of the inner core.

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In addition, the observed events coincide with the tracked periodic changes on the Earth’s surface. These included variations in day length and magnetic field, both of which have a periodicity of six to seven decades. As if this were not enough, global mean temperature and sea level rise also appear to be related factors. As the authors conclude, the observations provide evidence of dynamic interactions between Earth’s layers, from the deepest interior to the surface.