Heterogeneity and anisotropy of Earth's inner core

Arwen Deuss*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

Seismic observations provide strong evidence that Earth's inner core is anisotropic, with larger velocity in the polar than in the equatorial direction. The top 60-80 km of the inner core is isotropic; evidence for an innermost inner core is less compelling. The anisotropy is most likely due to alignment of hcp (hexagonal close-packed) iron crystals, aligned either during solidification or by deformation afterward. The existence of hemispherical variations used to be controversial, but there is now strong evidence from both seismic body wave and normal mode observations, showing stronger anisotropy, less attenuation, and a lower isotropic velocity in the western hemisphere. Two mechanisms have been proposed to explain the hemispherical pattern: either (a) inner core translation, wherein one hemisphere is melting and the other is solidifying, or (b) thermochemical convection in the outer core, leading to different solidification conditions at the inner core boundary. Neither is (yet) able to explain all seismically observed features, and a combination of different mechanisms is probably required.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)103-126
Number of pages24
JournalAnnual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences
Volume42
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 28 Jan 2014

Keywords

  • Body waves
  • Dynamics
  • Free oscillations
  • Iron
  • Mineralogy
  • Seismology
  • Solidification

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