On a time scale of tens to hundreds of millions of years, the geomagnetic field may be influenced by currents in the mantle. The frequent polarity reversals of Earth's magnetic field can also be ...

There's a small problem with Earth's magnetic field: It should not have existed, as Earth's rock record indicates it has, for the past 3.5 billion years. Motions in the Earth's molten iron core ...

The possible causes of convection in the Earth's mantle are examined, and it is concluded that radiogenic heating together with thermal conduction is most likely to provide the driving force for any ...

The interiors of rocky planets and moons tend to be pretty hot compared with their surfaces. This heat, which can be caused by a number of sources — such as tidal stretching and compression, the ...

The speed of seismic waves can reveal the temperature of structures under Earth’s surface, with faster waves indicating cooler temperatures and slower waves, warmer ones. Unusually low wave speeds ...

IT has become clear in recent years that there is a formidable case for continental drift. The most convincing single piece of evidence comes from palæomagnetism 1, but this is amply supported by a ...

Physicists in the US have performed a simple table-top experiment that could provide new insight into why the Earth’s continents drift apart and then move back together over several hundred-million ...