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Carbon-Driven Core Growth Confirmed, Powers Earth’s Magnetic Field

7/15/2026

Summary

Story summary

Australian National University (ANU) researchers Thanh-Son Pham and Hrvoje Tkalcic confirmed in 2023 an innermost core using 200 earthquake recordings that reveal a direction.
A September 2025 study by Oxford, Leeds and University College London (UCL) found dissolved carbon lowers iron crystallisation’s barrier, letting the core grow a millimetre per year.
Crystallising shells release heat and expel elements, creating fluid that drives outer-core convection and powers geodynamo generating Earth’s magnetic field.

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Story summary

Australian National University (ANU) researchers Thanh-Son Pham and Hrvoje Tkalcic confirmed in 2023 an innermost core using 200 earthquake recordings that reveal a direction.
A September 2025 study by Oxford, Leeds and University College London (UCL) found dissolved carbon lowers iron crystallisation’s barrier, letting the core grow a millimetre per year.
Crystallising shells release heat and expel elements, creating fluid that drives outer-core convection and powers geodynamo generating Earth’s magnetic field.