Academia Sinica Finds Mantle Heats Earth’s Core at 2,900-km Boundary, Reshaping Geodynamo View
Updated
Updated · sinica.edu.tw · Jul 13
Academia Sinica Finds Mantle Heats Earth’s Core at 2,900-km Boundary, Reshaping Geodynamo View
2 articles · Updated · sinica.edu.tw · Jul 13
Summary
Numerical simulations led by Academia Sinica show that at parts of the core-mantle boundary about 2,900 km deep, heat can flow from the mantle into the core rather than out of it.
Beneath large shear-wave velocity provinces—hotter, iron-rich deep-mantle regions—the core releases less heat than it supplies, while heat flux is much higher beneath slabs reaching the boundary.
That sharp lateral contrast in heat transfer could stratify the top of the core regionally and help explain the onset and end of geomagnetic superchrons tied to Earth’s magnetic field behavior.
The study, published June 17 in Nature Geoscience, was led by Frédéric Deschamps with collaborators from Academia Sinica and the University of Nantes.
Can we predict the next magnetic pole flip by mapping these hot and cold spots on Earth’s core?
How do giant, stable 'blobs' deep inside Earth create instability in the magnetic field that protects our planet?
Could remnants of a planetary collision control Earth's magnetic field from deep within its mantle today?
Localized Mantle-to-Core Heat Flow at the Core-Mantle Boundary: Implications for Earth's Magnetic Field and Thermal Evolution
Overview
In June 2026, Dr. Frédéric Deschamps and his team made a groundbreaking discovery that changed how we understand Earth's internal heat flow. Using advanced simulations, they found that, in certain regions, heat can actually move from the mantle into the core, not just from the core outward as previously believed. This challenges long-held ideas about Earth's thermal engine and highlights the complex interactions at the Core-Mantle Boundary. Their work, based on detailed numerical modeling, provides new insights into how heat moves deep within our planet and opens up exciting directions for future research.