The thermal conductivity of the Earth's core and implications for its thermal and compositional evolution

Kenji Ohta; Kei Hirose

doi:10.1093/nsr/nwaa303

The thermal conductivity of the Earth's core and implications for its thermal and compositional evolution

Natl Sci Rev. 2020 Dec 26;8(4):nwaa303. doi: 10.1093/nsr/nwaa303. eCollection 2021 Apr.

Authors

Kenji Ohta¹, Kei Hirose²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan.
² Earth-Life Science Institute, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan.

Abstract

Determining the thermal conductivity of iron alloys at high pressures and temperatures are essential for understanding the thermal history and dynamics of the Earth's metallic cores. The authors summarize relevant high-pressure experiments using a diamond-anvil cell and discuss implications of high core conductivity for its thermal and compositional evolution.