THE OUTER CORE: UPSC Daily Important Topic | 14 February 2022

THE OUTER CORE

◇ The outer core, surrounding the inner core, lies between 2900 km and 5100 km below the earth’s surface.

◇ The outer core is composed of iron mixed with nickel (nife) and trace amounts of lighter elements.

◇ The outer core is not under enough pressure to be solid, so it is liquid even though it has a composition similar to the inner core.

◇ The density of the outer core ranges from 9.9 g/cm3 to 12.2 g/cm3 .

◇ The temperature of the outer core ranges from 4400 °C in the outer regions to 6000 °C near the inner core.

◇ Dynamo theory suggests that convection in the outer core, combined with the Coriolis effect, gives rise to Earth’s magnetic field.