Earth's Interior | Live Science

Earth core structure illustrated with geological layers according to scale.

Giant blobs in Earth’s mantle may be driving a 'diamond factory' near our planet’s core

By Stephanie Pappas published 8 September 22

Water driven toward Earth's center by plate tectonics could lead to the creation of diamonds at the boundary between the core and the mantle.

An illustration showing mysterious waves (red) moving across the outermost layer of Earth's outer core.

'Completely new' type of magnetic wave found surging through Earth's core

By Brandon Specktor published 27 May 22

Scientists have discovered a new type of magnetic wave in Earth's outer core, known as Magneto-Coriolis waves. They may be responsible for fluctuations in the planet's magnetic field.

Researchers suspect that Earth's core holds a vast reservoir of the rare gas, helium-3.

Rare primordial gas may be leaking out of Earth's core

By Laura Geggel published 31 March 22

A vast reservoir of the rare gas helium-3 may be hanging out in Earth's metallic core.

A 3D view of the blob in Earth's mantle beneath Africa, shown in red, yellow and orange. The cyan represents the core-mantle boundary, blue signifies the surface and transparent gray indicates continents.

2 giant blobs in Earth's mantle may explain Africa's weird geology

By Stephanie Pappas published 12 March 22

One of Earth's two mysterious mantle blobs is much higher than the other, raising questions about its impact on Earth's surface.

An artist's impression of the Hadean eon, when early Earth may have been struck by a renegard Mars-sized planet.

Weird structures near Earth's core may be scars from a primordial interplanetary collision

By Brandon Specktor published 7 January 22

A collision with a Mars-size planet 4.5 billion years ago may have left a permanent impact on our planet's deep mantle.

Researchers found a hole in the mantle layer of Earth in the Cocos tectonic plate, which lies right off the coast of Panama. Shown here, a 3D rendering of a topographic map of Panama.

'Wind' from Earth's middle layer blows through a secret passage beneath Panama

By Stephanie Pappas published 18 December 21

The mysterious presence of mantle materials more than 1,000 miles (1,609 km) from where they originated may be explained by a 'window' 62 miles (100 kilometers) below the Earth's surface.

The Bonin Islands are part of a geologic arc called Izu-Bonin-Mariana Arc. The arc sits above the subduction zone, where the Pacific plate is slowly diving beneath the Philippine Sea Plate.

Deepest earthquake ever detected should have been impossible

By Stephanie Pappas last updated 9 November 21

Researchers have detected the deepest earthquake ever, 467 miles below the Earth's surface.

Earth's solid inner core may be growing in a 'lopsided' pattern, new research suggests.

Earth's core is growing 'lopsided' and scientists don't know why

By Brandon Specktor last updated 25 June 21

New seismic models show that Earth's inner core may be growing faster in the east than in the west, creating a 'lopsided' pattern at the center of our planet.

An illustration of protoplanetary disc formation

4.5 billion-year-old particles from the sun lurk in Earth's core and mantle

By Laura Geggel published 19 May 21

Are there particles from ancient solar winds hanging out in Earth's core and mantle?

A map of inner Earth showing the new ultralow-velocity zones (ULVZs) discovered with 30 years of seismic data.

The monstrous 'blobs' near Earth's core may be even bigger than we thought

By Brandon Specktor published 18 June 20

Using thousands of seismic wave recordings, researchers mapped the mysterious 'blobs' deep below the Pacific Ocean and found they are even bigger than imagined.

The undersea Hikurangi Plateau (outlined) has a greater area than the entire New Zealand mainland.

Remnant of world's largest 'lava lamp blob' found off New Zealand coast

By Brandon Specktor published 3 June 20

An underwater plateau near New Zealand was likely created by the 'largest volcanic outpouring' in Earth's history, a new study suggests.

A Tiny Magma Blob May Rewrite Earth's History of Plate Tectonics

By Tim Childers published 7 August 19

An International team of scientists finds evidence that Earth began recycling itself more than 3 billion years ago.

Turbulent Blobs in Earth's Core May Explain Sudden Jerks in the Magnetic Field

By Brandon Specktor published 22 April 19

Here’s one explanation for why Earth’s magnetic field undergoes weird geomagnetic jerks every decade or so.

Illustration showing the inside of Earth.

Scientists Find Weird Reason Diving Plates Get Stuck 400 Miles Beneath Earth's Surface

By Stephanie Pappas published 9 October 18

A slippery layer beneath Earth stops chunks of crust in their tracks, creating "stagnant slabs" in the middle of the mantle.

A Stash of a Quadrillion Tons of Diamonds May Be Hiding Deep Inside Earth

By Yasemin Saplakoglu published 16 July 18

Diamonds may be more common than we think

Earth's Inner Core Shouldn't Technically Exist

By Brandon Specktor published 9 February 18

Yep: we're all living on a giant paradox.

The eastern shore of Canada's Hudson Bay. The rocks visible here are 2.7 billion years old, but their precursors may have formed some of the earliest crust on Earth.

Parts of Earth's Original Crust Exist Today in Canada

By Stephanie Pappas published 16 March 17

Rocks from the eastern shore of the Hudson Bay in Canada contain elements of some of Earth's earliest crust, new research finds.

Primeval Reservoirs Under Earth's Mantle May Be Older Than the Moon

By Tia Ghose published 9 February 17

The Earth's mantle retains traces of primeval materials that are older than the moon, which formed a scant 100 million years after the solar system's coalescence.

Dino-Killing Asteroid May Have Punctured Earth's Crust

By Charles Q. Choi published 17 November 16

An illustration of Earth's core and its composition.

Earth's Fiery Depths Filled with Brimstone

By Becky Oskin published 26 February 16