The layers of our home planet are something pretty much all of us will have learnt in school, with scientific consensus stating that Earth is made up of four different layers.
Below the crust is a dense mantle which protects us from the scorching molten liquid of the outer core, and below that is the inner core, which is able to remain solid despite high temperatures thanks to intense levels of pressure.
However, this may be changing.
Planet Earth is made up of numerous layers (Getty Stock Images)
According to research published by the University of Southern California, scientists have made the baffling revelation that our super dense and solid metal core has actually changed its shape.
Researchers were able to come to this conclusion after analysing data obtained from earthquake shockwaves, which has been published in the journal of Natural Geoscience.
It’s believed the ‘viscous deformation’ of its shape is taking place along the outer edges of the inner core, where collisions occur with the molten liquid outer core.
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“The molten outer core is widely known to be turbulent, but its turbulence had not been observed to disrupt its neighbour the inner core on a human timescale,” Professor John Vidale said of the study.
“What we’re observing in this study for the first time is likely the outer core disturbing the inner core.”
The Earth’s core is responsible for our magnetic field (Getty Stock Images)
Why is the Earth’s inner core so important?
While a place widely explored in science fiction and conspiracy theories, what exactly goes on in Earth’s core largely remains a mystery to us on the surface.
However, there is one thing which scientists do know, that the inner core is critical to maintaining human life our planet.
The inner and outer core are responsible for producing a magnetic field, without this we would be exposed to solar wind and radiation emitted from the sun.
So you can see why scientists are keen to understand as much as possible of what is happening at 4,000 miles below our feet.
Although scientists are yet to make it below the the Earth’s crust, we are able to gain an understanding of what is going on by measuring how earthquake shockwaves pass through the inside of the planet.
Repeat Earthquakes in the same area allow researchers to look for changes to readings, which would suggest that something is taking place inside the very core of our planet.
“It’s almost science fiction to visualise what’s happening on the surface of the inner core,” Vidale added. “It’s a place that’s so different from our day-to-day lives, with different timescales, different materials and incredible forces.”
