(NewsNation) — The Earth’s inner core is changing shape and may be a little soft on the outside, scientific research suggests.
A study published in Nature Geoscience this month evaluated seismic activity to determine what may be happening within the deepest parts of the planet.
First, a few basics. The Earth’s inner core, which is smaller than the moon, is solid iron and nickel. It’s surrounded by a layer of molten metal known as the outer core, followed by the Earth’s mantle and the outer crust upon which humans live.
The researchers previously suggested the inner core’s rotation, different from the rest of the planet, has slowed. Now, they’re speculating that the solid-metal center softens and degrades where it meets the molten-liquid outer core.
The inner core there is “really soft, maybe as soft as jelly,” Cornell University geophysicist and study co-author Guanning Pang told the Washington Post.
Rather than being perfectly ball-shaped, the inner core may be more like peaks and valleys along its exterior.