Something Made Earth’s Molten Core Reverse Direction In 2010

In the molten ocean of iron churning in Earth’s outer core, a section deep beneath the Pacific Ocean suddenly reversed direction and started moving eastward against the planet’s usual westward flow. This happened in 2010, according to satellite measurements of Earth’s magnetic field, and scientists are still trying to figure out what caused it… [I]t seemed to have a large, wave-like structure — as though a chunk of molten core material suddenly thought better of where it wanted to go, surging in the other direction… This finding suggests that there are processes that can influence it strongly enough to alter its behavior in bulk — and that our planet’s interior may be more dynamic and variable than we thought.

A new analysis captures what we know so far — and

“It’s from the roiling, molten, conducting metal at Earth’s heart that the planetary magnetic field is generated… vital to our continued existence. It helps keep the atmosphere we breathe in and harmful cosmic radiation out.”