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Science 6 November 1981:
Vol. 214. no. 4521, pp. 611 - 619
DOI: 10.1126/science.214.4521.611
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Articles

Models of the Earth's Core

D. J. Stevenson 1

1 Associate professor of planetary science in the Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena 91125

Combined inferences from seismology, high-pressure experiment and theory, geomagnetism, fluid dynamics, and current views of terrestrial planetary evolution lead to models of the earth's core with the following properties. Core formation was contemporaneous with earth accretion; the core is not in chemical equilibrium with the mantle; the outer core is a fluid iron alloy containing significant quantities of lighter elements and is probably almost adiabatic and compositionally uniform; the more iron-rich inner solid core is a consequence of partial freezing of the outer core, and the energy release from this process sustains the earth's magnetic field; and the thermodynamic properties of the core are well constrained by the application of liquid-state theory to seismic and laboratory data.


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Sediments at the Top of Earth's Core.
B. A. Buffett, E. J. Garnero, and R. Jeanloz (2000)
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Early Differentiation of the Earth and the Problem of Mantle Siderophile Elements: A New Approach.
V. Rama Murthy and V. R. MURTHY (1991)
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Core Formation During Early Accretion of the Earth.
H. E. Newsom, H. E. NEWSOM, and K. W. W. SIMS (1991)
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The Melting Curve of Iron to 250 Gigapascals: A Constraint on the Temperature at Earth's Center.
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