Earth's interior is made up of a series of layers that sit below the surface crust. In order of depth, these layers include the solid, but flowing mantle, the liquid outer core and the solid iron outer core, which helps create Earth's protective magnetic field. The layers can also be categorized into the rigid outer lithosphere (which includes the crust and top portion of the mantle and makes up Earth's tectonic plates) and the athenosphere, the portion of the mantle that is solid, but made up of hot, weak, flowing rock. Read about the latest research on Earth's layers below.
Latest about Earth's Interior
Giant blobs in Earth’s mantle may be driving a 'diamond factory' near our planet’s core
Water driven toward Earth's center by plate tectonics could lead to the creation of diamonds at the boundary between the core and the mantle.
'Completely new' type of magnetic wave found surging through Earth's core
Scientists have discovered a new type of magnetic wave in Earth's outer core, known as Magneto-Coriolis waves. They may be responsible for fluctuations in the planet's magnetic field.
Rare primordial gas may be leaking out of Earth's core
A vast reservoir of the rare gas helium-3 may be hanging out in Earth's metallic core.
2 giant blobs in Earth's mantle may explain Africa's weird geology
One of Earth's two mysterious mantle blobs is much higher than the other, raising questions about its impact on Earth's surface.
Weird structures near Earth's core may be scars from a primordial interplanetary collision
A collision with a Mars-size planet 4.5 billion years ago may have left a permanent impact on our planet's deep mantle.
'Wind' from Earth's middle layer blows through a secret passage beneath Panama
The mysterious presence of mantle materials more than 1,000 miles (1,609 km) from where they originated may be explained by a 'window' 62 miles (100 kilometers) below the Earth's surface.
Deepest earthquake ever detected should have been impossible
Researchers have detected the deepest earthquake ever, 467 miles below the Earth's surface.
Earth's core is growing 'lopsided' and scientists don't know why
New seismic models show that Earth's inner core may be growing faster in the east than in the west, creating a 'lopsided' pattern at the center of our planet.
