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Earth cutaway from core to exosphere Geothermal drill machine in Wisconsin, USA. Temperature within Earth increases with depth. Highly viscous or partially molten rock at temperatures between 650 and 1,200 °C (1,200 and 2,200 °F) are found at the margins of tectonic plates, increasing the geothermal gradient in the vicinity, but only the outer core is postulated to exist in a molten or fluid ...
Earth and atmosphere structure. Earth's outer core is a fluid layer about 2,260 km (1,400 mi) thick, composed of mostly iron and nickel that lies above Earth's solid inner core and below its mantle.
The transition between the inner core and outer core is located approximately 5,150 km (3,200 mi) beneath Earth's surface. Earth's inner core is the innermost geologic layer of the planet Earth. It is primarily a solid ball with a radius of about 1,220 km (760 mi), which is about 19% of Earth's radius [0.7% of volume] or 70% of the Moon's radius.
Beneath the mantle, an extremely low viscosity liquid outer core lies above a solid inner core. [132] Earth's inner core may be rotating at a slightly higher angular velocity than the remainder of the planet, advancing by 0.1–0.5° per year, although both somewhat higher and much lower rates have also been proposed. [133]
Cross section of the Earth showing its main divisions and their approximate contributions to Earth's total internal heat flow to the surface, and the dominant heat transport mechanisms within Earth. Estimates of the total heat flow from Earth's interior to surface span a range of 43 to 49 terawatts (TW) (a terawatt is 10 12 watts). [13]
The sharp decline in P-wave velocity at the mantle-core boundary suggests a liquid outer core, transitioning from 7.7 km/s in the mantle to 4 km/s in the outer core. [59] The inability of S-waves to traverse this zone further confirms its fluid nature with molten iron sulphate .
By analyzing earthquake data from across the globe over the last 28 years, researchers confirmed that the inner core’s rotation relative to the Earth’s mantle — the bulk of the planet’s ...
Earth's inner core is the innermost geologic layer of the planet Earth. It is primarily a solid ball with a radius of about 1,220 km (760 mi), which is about 20% of Earth's radius or 70% of the Moon's radius. [1] [2] There are no samples of the core accessible for direct measurement, as there are for Earth's mantle. [3]