UCL Discovery
UCL home » Library Services » Electronic resources » UCL Discovery

Light elements in the Earth’s core

Hirose, K; Wood, B; Vočadlo, L; (2021) Light elements in the Earth’s core. Nature Reviews Earth & Environment , 2 (9) pp. 645-658. 10.1038/s43017-021-00203-6. Green open access

[thumbnail of Vocadlo_Hirose NatureReviews final ms.pdf]
Preview
Text
Vocadlo_Hirose NatureReviews final ms.pdf - Accepted Version

Download (1MB) | Preview

Abstract

Constraining the core’s composition is essential for understanding Earth accretion, core formation and the sustainment of Earth’s magnetic field. Earth’s outer and inner core exhibit a density deficit relative to pure iron, attributed to the presence of substantial amounts of low atomic number ‘light’ elements, such as sulfur, silicon, oxygen, carbon and hydrogen. However, owing to its inaccessibility, estimates of core composition can only be indirectly obtained by matching results from high-pressure experiments and theoretical calculations with seismic observations. In this Review, we discuss the properties and phase relations of iron alloys under high-pressure and high-temperature conditions relevant to the Earth’s core. We synthesize mineral physics data with cosmochemical and geochemical estimates to give the likely range of compositions for the outer (Fe + 5% Ni + 1.7% S + 0–4.0% Si + 0.8–5.3% O + 0.2% C + 0–0.26% H by weight) and inner (Fe + 5% Ni + 0–1.1% S + 0–2.3% Si + 0–0.1% O + 0–1.3% C + 0–0.23% H by weight) core. While the exact composition of the core remains unknown, tighter constraints on core temperature and better connections between the solid inner core and the liquid outer core compositions will help narrow the range of potential light element compositions.

Type: Article
Title: Light elements in the Earth’s core
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1038/s43017-021-00203-6
Publisher version: https://doi.org/10.1038/s43017-021-00203-6
Language: English
Additional information: This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions.
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences > Dept of Earth Sciences
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10134605
Downloads since deposit
542Downloads
Download activity - last month
Download activity - last 12 months
Downloads by country - last 12 months

Archive Staff Only

View Item View Item