Are the great mechanics of the world not in action? A study led by geologist Daniel A. Frost, published in Natural Geology reported cooling of the subsoil beneath Indonesia, more precisely in the Banda Sea. The reason for this phenomenon is assessed: it will be due to an increase in the planet’s core. But where the center of the earth is supposed to grow parallel to the continent of South America, it is not. And scientists still don’t know how to explain the reasons for this growth.
Seismic waves to understand the earth
Scientists have realized composition of the earth’s interior, arranged in layers and disassembled in 1912 by Beno Gutenberg. On the surface we find the earth’s crust which can be either continents or oceans. Next is the upper mantle, the mesosphere and finally the core, with the outer and inner parts. The latter is the last plane, the ‘heart’ of the planet with a radius of 1,220 km.
Seismology, a stethoscope that listens to the heart of the earth
All these layers are crossed byseismic waves, viewed around the world with a precision instrument called a seismograph. This tool can record underground vibrations from the epicenter of any earthquake in the world. Two types of waves are studied in particular: longitudinal (P) compression waves, fastest waves and transverse and horizontal (S) waves.
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The first, “P”, can pass through both solids and liquids, while “S” cannot pass through liquids. An earthquake that occurs at a depth of 30 km in the earth’s crust that propagates S and P waves will cross various layers of the Earth, including the outer core, which is made of molten alloy.
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