Science & Technology

Molten iron 'jet stream' found in Earth's core

By T.K. Randall
December 21, 2016

Image: Earth Cutaway
Credit: CharlesC / CC BY-SA 3.0 (adapted) The remarkable discovery was made using Europe's Swarm satellites - a trio of orbiting spacecraft capable of obtaining high-resolution measurements of the planet's magnetic field.

Flowing westwards deep beneath Alaska and Siberia, this subterranean flow of liquid iron has been likened to the jet stream - a high-altitude belt of hot air that planes use to travel more quickly.

It is however much slower - moving at a relative snail's pace of only 50km per year."That might not sound like a lot to you on Earth's surface, but you have to remember this a very dense liquid metal and it takes a huge amount of energy to move this thing around and that's probably the fastest motion we have anywhere within the solid Earth," said Dr Chris Finlay.

Scientists believe that the stream was created due to its proximity to two core boundary regions.

"Of course, you need a force to move fluid towards the tangent cylinder," said study co-author Professor Rainer Hollerbach. "This could be provided by buoyancy, or perhaps more likely from changes in the magnetic field within the core."

Source: Independent

Tags: Earth, Jet Stream, Core