New research by German scientists suggests that the Earth’s inner core likely has a multilayered, onion-like structure.
This result is based on the study of seismic anisotropy, a phenomenon in which the speed of seismic waves changes depending on the direction of motion as they pass through the core.
The researchers studied the origin of these anomalies by testing the combined effect of silicon and carbon on the behavior of iron under conditions of very high pressure and temperature.
X-ray diffraction results showed that the addition of silicon and carbon changes the arrangement of the iron crystal lattice, and these changes correspond to seismic anomalies observed in the outer part of the inner core.
These findings confirm that the Earth’s inner core is composed of several distinct layers.
