Yes, Earth’s core may have changed its rotation. Is that a new phenomenon?

What's going on with the Earth's core? You may have seen some headlines about that recently with some claiming that our planet's core has stopped spinning. So is that true? And should we even be concerned about it? We had one of our own scientists here at KCRA, meteorologist Heather Waldman, dig for some answers. Before I get into it, let's do a quick review of some Earth science. Earth has a handful of layers, starting with the crust and then the mantle, which is mainly a solid. Now, within that mantle is Earth's core. The outer layer is made up of molten metals, but the inner core is a really dense and really hot solid. Because the inner core is suspended in that thick liquid of the outer core, it doesn't have to spin at the same rate as us here on the surface.

Here's planetary science expert Dr. Bruce Buffett with UC Berkeley. It's actually not a sort of steady rotation, but actually its rate fluctuates periodically with time. And sometimes it's rotating faster. Sometimes it's rotating a little bit slower. Maybe even rotates potentially in the opposite direction. For scientists like Buffett, the trick is figuring out why and how that rotation changes with time.

One group of researchers may have found evidence that the core has stopped rotating relative to the surface, and it may actually be spinning the other way. It's important to note that the change probably happened around the year 2009. Studying those changes can clue us into patterns that influence earthquakes and even volcanic activity. Can also indicate changes in Earth's magnetic field, which helps to shield our atmosphere from harmful radiation. Magnetic field also plays a big role in navigation systems. It's the reason that North is, well, North. But despite all of that, the takeaway with this recently reported change in the core's rotation is that we're not headed for some sci-fi disaster situation here.

Is there going to be a calamity? Well, probably not. I mean, we're noticing the fact that the planet doesn't rotate as a whole. And by the way, researchers found those rotational changes by using of all things earthquake data. They looked at regions where earthquakes occur relatively frequently and with similar magnitudes. They then trace the energy from those quakes as it moves through Earth's middle. If energy patterns change, that's a clue that the spin of the Earth's core may have changed as well. It's a pretty handy way to examine something that's 2,000 miles below our feet with a temperature of more than 8,000 degrees.

Back to you. Well, the study that looked at the rotation of the Earth's core also made some claims about its potential to impact Earth's climate. Dr. Buffett says that there is not a lot of certainty to that statement, among other Earth and planetary scientists.

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