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GD4.1/EMRP4.1/PS2.7

Earth's core: Structure and dynamics and interaction with the mantle (co-organized)
Co-Convener: Ingo Wardinski 
Orals
 / Tue, 29 Apr, 13:30–17:00
Posters
 / Attendance Tue, 29 Apr, 17:30–19:00

Recent progress in mineral physics, geodynamics and seismology is profoundly altering our understanding of the Earth's core. Recent mineral physics calculations of core material properties call for revisions to existing models of the long-term evolution of the core and geodynamo. Moreover,
geomagnetic and paloemagnetic observations are yielding valuable new insight into the spatio-temporal variations of the geomagnetic field, while recent (magneto)hydrodynamic experiments and numerical models have proposed significant changes to our understanding of inner core dynamics, rapidly rotating convection and the processes responsible for magnetic field generation. Improved seismic observations show striking structural complexity in the solid inner core and anomalous regions at the top and bottom of the fluid core that present challenges for current dynamical models. Varying conditions in the mantle may alter the magnitude and pattern of core-mantle boundary heat flux and profoundly affect the geodynamo. Spatial and temporal variations in core-mantle boundary heat flux may explain numerous geodynamo related observations including: locations of intense geomagnetic flux patches, hemispheric dichotomy of the geomagnetic secular variation, inferred morphology of the core flow, seismic heterogeneity at the top of the inner core, preferred paths of virtual geomagnetic poles during reversals and excursions, geomagnetic dipole eccentricity, and long term variations in dipole moment intensity as well as reversal frequency. These observations span a huge range of timescales providing a highly
multidisciplinary challenge to observationalists, modellers and theoreticians alike.

This session welcomes contributions that use observations, models, or experiments to understand the structure and dynamics of Earth's core. Interdisciplinary studies aimed at linking these aspects into an integrated and self-consistent picture of the core are particularly welcome. We also invite papers related to documenting and explaining possible signatures of mantle forcing of the geodynamo using
inferences from core and mantle modeling, palaeo- archaeo- and geomagnetism, seismology, mineral physics, tectonics, or any other relevant field.