Science perspective: The enigmatic inner core

We developed a novel method to study inner core structure using whole Earth oscillations. The observed inner core anisotropy reveals more complicated regional variations than a simple Eastern versus Western hemispherical pattern. The similarity of this pattern with the Earth’s magnetic field suggest that it may be responsible for the origin of the anisotropy. Our observations also limit the amount of inner core super rotation, but would be consistent with oscillation.

This work was published in Science Express on 15 April 2010, and in the printed edition on 21 May 2010, ‘Regional Variation of Inner Core Anisotropy from Seismic Normal Mode Observations’ by Arwen Deuss, Jessica Irving and John Woodhouse. Read here.

The paper was accompanied by a Perspective in Science article by Bruce Buffett (Buffet, B.A., 2010, “The enigmatic inner core” Science 328, no. 5981, pp. 982-983 ).