Researchers Find 20% Superionic Hydrogen Can Stabilize Earth's Inner Core
Updated
Updated · ScienceAlert · Aug 2
Researchers Find 20% Superionic Hydrogen Can Stabilize Earth's Inner Core
3 articles · Updated · ScienceAlert · Aug 2
Summary
Modeling in PNAS suggests superionic hydrogen is abundant in Earth’s inner core, with the hexagonal close-packed iron-hydrogen phase the most likely stable form there.
At temperatures above 6,400 Kelvin and hydrogen content above 20% under 3.6 million atmospheres, a body-centered cubic phase can become stable, but the study says melting would likely overtake it.
The calculations also point to a sharp radial hydrogen gradient from the outer-core boundary toward the inner-core center, implying continuous hydrogen redistribution rather than only one-way partitioning during crystallization.
That exchange could help supply chemical buoyancy for the geodynamo as the inner core keeps growing by about 1 millimeter per year, and may also shape how other light elements are distributed.