The inner core was discovered over 70 years ago, however relatively little is known about its structure and compostion. The volume of the inner core is less than 1% of Earth's volume, yet it plays a significant role in Earth's dynamics and human life is not possible without it. Better understanding of inner core structure is needed to better understand the formational history of the Earth.

Seismic studies of the Earth's inner core have revealed a range of structures, such as hemispherical anisotropy and an isotropic layer at the inner core boundary. However, many questions remain unanswered, particularly the variation of anisotropy with depth and the dynamical origins of seismic structures.

My research is two fold: I use body wave observations to investigate inner core structure; I also apply fluid dynamics to interpret the thermal and compositional nature of the observed inner core seismic structures. This project is funded by a NERC studentship. 


Publications: 2006-Present

Last updated on 05-Dec-11 16:27