Molten iron at extreme conditions reveals compositional inhomogeneity in Earth’s lower outer core
-layer overlain by a gradient in light-element concentration. Our findings provide direct experimental constraints on the thermodynamic behavior of molten iron under outer core conditions, offering insights into the compositional stratification, thermal evolution, and long-term sustainability of the geodynamo.
Authors
- Bo Gan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7225-7425)
- Youjun Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5340-4170)
- Long Hao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5326-784X)
- Jun Li
- Qiang Wu
- Heli Ma
- Xiang Wu
- Zhipeng Gao
Institutions
- Sichuan University (CN)
- China Academy of Engineering Physics (CN)
- China University of Geosciences (Beijing) (CN)
- Institute of Molecular Medicine (IN)
- Intelligent Health (United Kingdom) (GB)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
- Published
- 2026-04-16
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2533391123
- Primary Topic
- High-pressure geophysics and materials
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- China Postdoctoral Science Foundation