This is how it affects daily life

The speed at which Earth’s inner core It is a topic under discussion in the scientific community worldwide. A recent study published in Nature seems to shed light on this.

While some researchers assert that the center of the planet rotates faster than its surface, others believe the opposite. Meanwhile, the new study provides “the most convincing evidence” in this regard: it confirms it Nucleus It started to slow down around 2010 and It is now moving slower than the surface of the Earth.

The heart rotates slower than the Earth’s surface: what are the effects?

“When I first saw the seismograms that hinted at this change, I was astonished,” he said. John Vidal, a researcher at the University of Southern California and co-author of the work, said in a press release. “But when we found twenty other observations pointing to the same pattern, the result was undeniable. The inner core has slowed down for the first time in many decades. Other scholars have recently discussed similar and different models, however “Our latest study provides the most convincing solution.”The researcher confirmed.

Last year, similar work by Chinese scientists already warned of this The inner core rotates more slowly than the outer shell. This means that from the perspective of someone in that cortex, the nucleus is rotating in the opposite direction. Researchers call it backtrack in English, which means to return or return.

As they point out, The effects of this phenomenon on daily life Of imperceptible people, though They confirm that it is capable of modifying the length of days in fractions of a second and even distorting the Earth’s crust.

Specifically, the inner core is receding relative to the planet’s surface because it is moving slightly slower than the mantle for the first time in about 40 years, according to the new work. Compared to its speed in previous decades, The inner core slows down.

Previous studies have revealed that this decrease in rhythm follows something similar to cycles Two decades ago it was the core that rotated faster than the crust. Starting in 2010, the phase changed and the inner core began rotating more slowly than the outer core.

The core is an iron ball the size of the moon

he The Earth’s inner core is a large ball of iron and nickel, which is surrounded by the outer core, is made of the same material but in a liquid state. Its core is roughly the size of the moon.

Knowing more about his behavior is very challenging, because it is impossible to reach. the Scientists use seismic waves from earthquakes To create representations of internal basic movement.

Vidal and his colleague Wei Wang, from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, analyzed the waves it produces 143 pairs of identical earthquakes Which occur at the same location and produce identical seismograms.

Vidal thinks so The deceleration of the inner core is explained by friction with the outer core. This process is necessary for life on Earth, as it produces a dynamo effect that generates the Earth’s magnetic field, which protects the planet from radiation coming from space.

According to the researcher Xiaodong Song“, from the Institute of Theoretical and Applied Geophysics at Peking University and author of the first study on core retreat in 2023, and this new work confirms his findings and”“It provides clear evidence that the decline is already happening.”

“It should be noted that we are talking about the rotation of the inner core relative to the Earth’s surface; This means that the inner core was rotating slightly faster than Earth before 2009, was nearly synchronous in 2009, and has been rotating slightly slower since 2009. This discovery is stunning evidence that our planet is so dynamic that its deep motion can be clearly detected . He added to our human eyes.

He reiterated that the repercussions of this change on life on Earth are just speculation. Although researcher Vidal pointed out the decline of the inner core It can change the length of the day by fractions of a second: “This is very difficult to notice within a millisecondHe was almost lost in the noise of the oceans and the atmosphere in its turmoil.”