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Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Photo: Earthquakes Help Take Deep Earth's Temperature


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A diagram shows Earth's layers: crust on top, mantle in the middle, and a molten outer core surrounding a solid inner core. Points near the geographic North Pole indicate where the magnetic pole could be found in 1900 and 1996.

Using a technique adapted from oil and gas exploration, researchers have made the best estimate to date of the temperature of the core-mantle boundary: 3,950 Kelvin, plus or minus 200. The information could help scientists better understand how heat transfer between the core and the mantle affects the planet's magnetic field.

Image courtesy NASA