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High‐pressure experiments combined with geophysical and geodynamic modeling suggest that the temperature near the bottom of the mantle probably lies between 2500 and 3000 K. There is still uncertainty over the heat flow out of the core and the thermal conductivity of the materials in D″ zone, so it is not possible to give a precise estimate of the temperature increase across the thermal boundary layer at the base of the mantle, although it is generally accepted that this may be of the order of 1000 K. Another approach to constraining the temperature of the core is based upon the assumption that the solid inner core is crystallizing from the liquid outer core, and the ICB marks a crystallization interface. Given that the core is iron (alloyed with about 10% of lighter elements), and given that impurities lower the melting point, then the melting temperature (T m) of iron at the pressure of the ICB can be used to place an upper bound on the core's temperature at this depth. As reviewed...

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© 2007 Springer-Verlag

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Price, D. (2007). Core Temperature. In: Gubbins, D., Herrero-Bervera, E. (eds) Encyclopedia of Geomagnetism and Paleomagnetism. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-4423-6_40

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