Pattern of Inner‐Core Differential Rotation From Long‐Term Earthquake Sequences and USArray Network

Abstract How the differential rotation of the Earth's inner core (IC) has changed over time provides insights into the dynamics of the Earth's interior. Analyses of repeating earthquakes (doublets) have yielded different models. Here we present an event‐based investigation using individual events from long‐term earthquake sequences, which improves temporal coverage over doublet‐based approaches and provides spatial resolution for inferring the rotation rate. Results from two pathways, South Sandwich Islands to Alaska (1982–2024) and Kuril Islands to Argentina (1994–2024), reveal a consistent pattern that the IC successively rotated faster than the mantle by about from the early 1980s and decelerated to a near‐zero rate around 2000, perhaps slower than the mantle after about 2010. We also provide a new way to calibrate spatial structure and constrain the average rotation rate with improved accuracy. The results are consistent with the multidecadal IC oscillation model, but do not support shorter‐term oscillations or bursts.

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Publication Details

Journal
Geophysical Research Letters
Published
2026-01-04
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1029/2025gl119295
Primary Topic
Geophysics and Sensor Technology
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

Pattern of Inner‐Core Differential Rotation From Long‐Term Earthquake Sequences and USArray Network

kaixin Wu, Xiaodong Song, Yi Yang
Geophysical Research Letters
Geophysics and Sensor Technology
article

Pattern of Inner‐Core Differential Rotation From Long‐Term Earthquake Sequences and USArray Network

kaixin Wu, Xiaodong Song, Yi Yang
article en

Abstract

Abstract How the differential rotation of the Earth's inner core (IC) has changed over time provides insights into the dynamics of the Earth's interior. Analyses of repeating earthquakes (doublets) have yielded different models. Here we present an event‐based investigation using individual events from long‐term earthquake sequences, which improves temporal coverage over doublet‐based approaches and provides spatial resolution for inferring the rotation rate. Results from two pathways, South Sandwich Islands to Alaska (1982–2024) and Kuril Islands to Argentina (1994–2024), reveal a consistent pattern that the IC successively rotated faster than the mantle by about from the early 1980s and decelerated to a near‐zero rate around 2000, perhaps slower than the mantle after about 2010. We also provide a new way to calibrate spatial structure and constrain the average rotation rate with improved accuracy. The results are consistent with the multidecadal IC oscillation model, but do not support shorter‐term oscillations or bursts.

Geophysical Research LettersVol. 53(1)
Peking University (CN), Nanjing University (CN)
National Natural Science Foundation of China
Openalex Percentile: Top 97%
Geophysics and Sensor Technology
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