Silicon "snowfalls" revealed in the Earth's interior
Scientists from Arizona State University have analyzed the processes taking place in the Earth's outer core. The study showed that there is constant silicon "snow" at the boundary between the core and the mantle, reports Deception No.
As part of the experiment, scientists loaded an iron-silicon alloy into a hydrogen-argon gas mixture. The samples were then compressed in a cell with a diamond anvil and heated with laser beams - this allowed to simulate the pressure and temperature of the Earth's interior.
Observations showed that silicon-rich crystals formed as a result. They are lighter than liquids and therefore rise in the molten core rather than sink.
"If silicon and hydrogen are the two main light elements in the outer core with appropriate content, a growing layer of silicon-rich snow can form," the authors of the scientific paper noted.
The scientists concluded that this phenomenon could lead to the formation of silicon-rich snow piles at the boundary between the metallic core and the rocky mantle. Anomalies - small-scale structures of unknown origin found by seismic waves over the past few decades - may be associated with them.
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