Fastest motion in Earth’s core
- Who
- iron 'jet stream'
- What
- 50 kilometre(s)
- Where
- Not Applicable
- When
- 19 December 2016
On 19 December 2016, a team of scientists from DTU National Space Institute (Denmark) and the University of Leeds (UK) published research revealing their discovery of a "jet stream" of molten iron in Earth’s outer core. The team used data from ESA’s three Swarm satellites, designed to study Earth’s magnetic field, and found the mass of molten iron at a depth of around 3,000 km. It is around 420 km wide and wraps around half the planet. The team estimate the iron stream is moving at around 50 km per year.