The Earth’s molten interior is cooling faster than expected, which could turn the planet into a cold, inactive world similar to neighboring Mercury and Mars sooner than previously thought, researchers have warned.
The study, published in the Earth and Planetary Science Letters journal, examined how well bridgmanite – the primary mineral found at the boundary between the planet’s core and mantle layers – conducts heat from the hot, molten core to the surface.
Researchers irradiated a bridgmanite crystal with pulsed lasers on a diamond anvil press to simulate the effects of intense heat and pressure at the boundary. They found that the rate at which the mineral conducted heat was “about 1.5 times higher than assumed.”
The findings mean that the cooling of the Earth’s core is speeding up, and it is “becoming inactive much faster than expected.”
The rapid cooling could in turn lead to an earlier slowing-down of processes like plate tectonics, which are related to the movements of large underground slabs composed of the crust and outer mantle layer, and volcanic activity.
This heat exchange from the planet’s core helps generate the Earth’s magnetic field, which is understood to be protecting the planet’s atmosphere from solar radiation and allowing life to thrive.
The man who critically injured Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico on Wednesday was a fierce…
The Asia-Pacific region should be free of military blocs because of their potential to undermine…
Russian President Vladimir Putin was welcomed with an honor guard after his plane touched down…
Russian President Vladimir Putin has set the stage for his state visit to China by…
С каждым днем онлайн-казино становятся все более популярными среди азартных игроков. И это вполне логично:…
Russian President Vladimir Putin has officially appointed Andrey Belousov as the new minister of defense.Belousov,…