'Look' at the heart of the Earth

Complicated computer models are creating detailed images of the processes of restoring Earth's shape that continue to take place from within, giving us new insights into the mysterious underworld at the bottom.

"Zoom" into the ground

What these models provide - from depths of more than 20 km underground - gives us a better understanding of the forces behind the motion of these planetary plates, causing earthquake and explosion dynamics. volcano. It also helps explain why Earth, unique in the solar system, has the first tectonic strata.

The motion of these tectonic plates depends on many complex factors such as temperature, stress and rock composition. To integrate all these elements in a model that requires extremely high resolution, explains Thorsten Becker of the University of Southern California.

" With this method, we do not need high-resolution images in every position, but only need to focus on the places that we need to care about most, such as tectonic disk boundaries, which occur almost Without this advantage, the previous models forced researchers to " guess " in some cases . "

Earthquake penetration

Applying the new model, Michael Gurnis of the Caltech Center and his colleagues began to explore the inner workings of the Earth. " If you just look at the planet of our planet from an outsider position, you will only see it boiling like a big furnace that works continuously ," Gurnis said. " This study tells us physically, how hot that machine works ."

Research has found that the very deep inner core of Earth plays an important role in powering the machine to function, regulating the fast or slow motion of tectonic disks.

" Most of us still think that the forces from the Earth's shallow core are more important, but it turns out that the driving forces and drags in the lower mantle decide each tectonic plate moves 1 or 10 cm per year. with the best effect, the shallow soil itself has strong connections with parts of the Earth thousands of kilometers below . "

Researchers hope this particular computer model can provide clues to the study of seismologists.

Researchers hope this particular computer model can provide clues to the study of seismologists. " We may not be able to accurately predict the upcoming earthquake, but we understand why this particular region has more earthquakes than elsewhere, " Becker explained.

Gurnis and his team also found that when a shifting tectonic plate releases a large amount of local energy, it returns to the Earth's core without adversely affecting the global surface. This has changed the traditional view of our planet's energy balance.

" These stratigraphic tectonics affect our water and carbon cycle," Becker added. "And it seems we need these stratigraphic tectonics to have life ."