The Earth has a few layers which lead up to the core - crust, mantle, upper mantle, outer core and inner core.
By tracking seismic waves generated through earthquakes, the inner core, they noted, began moving from 2008 to 2023 slightly in reverse.
"The inner core had slowed down for the first time in many decades," Vidale said at the time.
ALSO SEE: Earth's Inner Core Is Spinning At Its Slowest In Many Decades; Why It MattersThe spin of the inner core, which is solid metal composed of iron and nickel, is caused by the magnetic field and gravity.
While there is no concrete evidence, scientists believe that the inner core also has some influence on the inner core and it could also shorten the length of the day although it would be negligible.
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Scientists are claiming to have found evidence that the spin of Earth's core has not only slowed down, but it is moving in the opposite direction. Doubling down on a hypothesis proposed in 2023, the research team led by Dr. John Vidale from the University of Southern California said that the core is moving in reverse relative to the mantle.
The Earth has a few layers which lead up to the core - crust, mantle, upper mantle, outer core and inner core.
By tracking seismic waves generated through earthquakes, the inner core, they noted, began moving from 2008 to 2023 slightly in reverse.
Earlier in June, Vidale and team published their findings in the journal Nature about the slowing down of the inner core's rotation as compared to the planet's surface.
"The inner core had slowed down for the first time in many decades," Vidale said at the time. Using a model and deriving predictions from the data, Vidale says that the core's rotation will start speeding up again in about five to ten years from now.
ALSO SEE: Earth's Inner Core Is Spinning At Its Slowest In Many Decades; Why It Matters
The spin of the inner core, which is solid metal composed of iron and nickel, is caused by the magnetic field and gravity. The magnetic field and gravity are at a tug of war on this metal ball which affects its rotational speed.
While there is no concrete evidence, scientists believe that the inner core also has some influence on the inner core and it could also shorten the length of the day although it would be negligible.
ALSO SEE: Earth's Core Is Wilder Than You Can Imagine
Vidale and his team collected data from the 121 earthquakes that occurred between 1991 and 2023 on the islands in the Atlantic Ocean and the seismic signals helped them take precise measurements on the changes in the core's rotation.
The experts also noted that the inner core's rotation follows a 70-year cycle but there are some uncertainties about the theories since the core in inaccessible.
As for the changes caused by a slowed or reverse rotation in our lives, Vidale told CNN, "I can’t imagine it means much."
(Image: NASA)
