Earth's Core
Geophysics of a Planet's Deepest Interior
- 2nd Edition - April 1, 2028
- Latest edition
- Authors: Vernon F. Cormier, Michael I. Bergman, Peter L. Olson
- Language: English
- Paperback ISBN:9 7 8 - 0 - 4 4 3 - 4 5 8 0 7 - 1
- eBook ISBN:9 7 8 - 0 - 4 4 3 - 4 5 8 0 8 - 8
"Earth's Core: Geophysics of a Planet's Deepest Interior" offers a detailed and comprehensive examination of the Earth’s core, integrating geophysical evidence, mineral physics… Read more
Purchase options
"Earth's Core: Geophysics of a Planet's Deepest Interior" offers a detailed and comprehensive examination of the Earth’s core, integrating geophysical evidence, mineral physics, seismology, and dynamical processes to provide a holistic understanding of the planet’s innermost region. The book begins by outlining the radial structure of the core, exploring seismic wave analyses, anisotropy, viscosity, and attenuation that reveal the complex physical properties of both the inner and outer core. It explores the core’s composition, discussing the presence of light elements like hydrogen, and the thermodynamic and transport properties that govern core behavior under extreme pressures and temperatures. The geodynamo mechanism, responsible for Earth’s magnetic field, is elucidated through discussions on core flow patterns, convection, and numerical dynamo simulations. The dynamics of the outer core, including thermochemical transport and wave phenomena, are examined alongside boundary regions such as the lowermost mantle and core-mantle boundary topography, highlighting their roles in core-mantle interactions. The inner core’s seismological characteristics—elastic anisotropy, attenuation, lateral variations, and differential rotation—are updated with the latest research, as are its dynamic processes including solidification, deformation, and recrystallization. The book also addresses the formation and evolution of the core, considering early Earth conditions and the initiation of the geodynamo, while concluding with future research goals in seismology, mineral physics, and core dynamics. This work stands as a foundational resource that deepens scientific insight into the Earth’s core, driving forward the study of planetary interiors and magnetic field generation.
• Offers a multidisciplinary approach to Earth’s core, including insights from seismology, mineral physics, geomagnetism, and geodynamics.
• Provides detailed tables and appendices with the best estimates of physical properties available to modelers in a variety of subdisciplines and brief tutorials in the observational methods of other disciplines.
• Presents dynamic color images of structure and dynamics to aid in understanding temporal changes in fast convective flow in the outer core sustaining the magnetic field and slow convective flow affecting elasticity of the inner core.
• Provides detailed tables and appendices with the best estimates of physical properties available to modelers in a variety of subdisciplines and brief tutorials in the observational methods of other disciplines.
• Presents dynamic color images of structure and dynamics to aid in understanding temporal changes in fast convective flow in the outer core sustaining the magnetic field and slow convective flow affecting elasticity of the inner core.
Graduate students, faculty, and early career researchers in geophysics, mineral physics, geochemistry, and seismology, as well as planetary dynamo modelers and paleomagnetic researchers.
Chapter 1. Radial structure of Earth's core
Chapter 2. Composition of Earth’s core
Chapter 3. Geodynamo and geomagnetic basics
Chapter 4. Outer core dynamics
Chapter 5. Boundary regions
Chapter 6. Inner core explored with seismology
Chapter 7. Inner core dynamics
Chapter 8. Formation and evolution of the core
Chapter 9. Future research goals
Chapter 2. Composition of Earth’s core
Chapter 3. Geodynamo and geomagnetic basics
Chapter 4. Outer core dynamics
Chapter 5. Boundary regions
Chapter 6. Inner core explored with seismology
Chapter 7. Inner core dynamics
Chapter 8. Formation and evolution of the core
Chapter 9. Future research goals
- Edition: 2
- Latest edition
- Published: April 1, 2028
- Language: English
VC
Vernon F. Cormier
Vernon F. Cormier is a Professor of Physics and Geophysics at the University of Connecticut. He received a BS from the California Institute of Technology and a PhD from Columbia University. His research has specialized in seismic wave propagation and deep Earth structure. He has served as an editor for the Geophysical Journal International and Physics of the Earth’s Interior. Among services to professional societies he has served the Seismological Society of America as Vice President and the American Geophysical Union as Secretary of the Seismology Section and Chair of the Study of Earth’s Deep Interior (SEDI) focus group.
Affiliations and expertise
Department of Physics, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut, United StatesMB
Michael I. Bergman
Michael I. Bergman is the Emily H. Fisher Professor of Physics at Bard College at Simon’s Rock, where he teaches courses ranging from Introduction to Geology to Solid-state Physics to a field course in Volcanology on the island of Montserrrat. He earned a BA from Columbia University and a PhD from MIT. His research has focused on the solidification and deformation of metals, alloys, and aqueous solutions, with applications to Earth’s core and sea ice. He is the recipient of the Doornbos Prize for research on the deep Earth by a beginning investigator, has been the long-standing secretary of SEDI, and has served as guest editor for several journals.
Affiliations and expertise
Faculty in Physics, Bard College at Simon’s Rock, Great Barrington, Massachusetts, United StatesPO
Peter L. Olson
Peter L. Olson is an adjunct professor in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at the University of New Mexico. He earned a BA from the University of Colorado and a PhD from the University of California Berkeley. His research focuses on the dynamics of Earth and other planets. He co-authored a book on convection in planetary mantles and served on editorial boards of numerous scientific journals. He was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the US National Academy of Sciences, and received the Petrus Peregrinus Medal from the European Geosciences Union and the Inge Lehmann Medal from the American Geophysical Union.
Affiliations and expertise
Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States