Making a giant discovery, scientists from the University of Southern California have recently revealed, that the earth’s inner core is now rotating slowly than the planet’s surface.
This phenomenon can significantly affect earth’s magnetic field stability and the duration of our days.
As per the study published by Nature, its research emphasizes, that the speed of the inner core has begun to slow down around 2010. Notably, it is for the first time after 40 years, that the inner core is moving more slowly than the earth’s surface.
Talking about earth’s inner core slowing down, Professor of Earth Sciences at University of Southern California John Vidale said,
‘When I first saw the seismograms that hinted at this change, I was stumped. But when we found two dozen more observations signalling the same pattern, the result was inescapable. The inner core had slowed down for the first time in many decades. Other scientists have recently argued for similar and different models, but our latest study provides the most convincing resolution.’ said John Vidale.
According to John Vidale, Chaotic motion of the liquid outer core around it, which generates of earth’s magnetic field and gravity pull from dense regions in the overlying rocky mantle is responsible for the slowing of earth’s inner core.
Furthermore, Mr Vidale also revealed, that this phenomenon can change earth’s rotation and can make our days longer. However, it might change the length of the day by fractions of a second.
Currently, the team is monitoring the trajectory of inner core in greater detail, to understand why inner core is shifting.
Later, Mr Vidale offered another theory, where the earth inner core has become livelier.
Talking about this theory he said, ‘The dance of the inner core might be even more lively than we know so far.’