Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The mantle’s influence on the long-term behaviour of Earth’s magnetic field

  • Research Briefing
  • Published:

From Nature Geoscience

View current issue Submit your manuscript

Numerical simulations show that convection in the mantle shapes the long-term structure of Earth’s magnetic field. The mantle influences the magnetic field by imposing a pattern of cooling that controls the dynamics of fluid flow at the top of the outer core.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1: Simulations of Earth’s magnetic field.

References

  1. Landeau, M., Fournier, A., Nataf, H.-C., Cébron, D. & Schaeffer, N. Sustaining Earth’s magnetic dynamo. Nat. Rev. Earth Environ. 3, 255–269 (2022). A review article that summarizes the geological history of Earth’s magnetic field and how the core dynamo is believed to operate.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Panovska, S., Korte, M. & Constable, C. G. One hundred thousand years of geomagnetic field evolution. Rev. Geophys. 57, 1289–1337 (2019). A review article that details the morphology of the geomagnetic field and its variability over the past 100,000 years.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Hernlund, J. W. & McNamara, A. K. in Treatise on Geophysics 2nd edn (ed. Schubert, G.) 461–519 (Elsevier, 2015). A review article that discusses the structure and dynamics of the lowermost mantle and uppermost core.

  4. Schwaiger, T., Gastine, T. & Aubert, J. Force balance in numerical geodynamo simulations: a systematic study. Geophys. J. Int. 219, S101–S114 (2019). This paper establishes the expected balance of forces in the Earth’s core and explores how simulations at less extreme parameters can be linked to that Earth-like regime.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Additional information

Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

This is a summary of: Mound, J. E. et al. Longitudinal structure of Earth’s magnetic field controlled by lower mantle heat flow. Nat. Geosci. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-023-01148-9 (2023).

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

The mantle’s influence on the long-term behaviour of Earth’s magnetic field. Nat. Geosci. 16, 292–293 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-023-01149-8

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-023-01149-8

  • Springer Nature Limited

Search

Navigation