Gravitational braking of inner‐core rotation in geodynamo simulations
Open accessAbstract
The effects of gravitational coupling between the inner core and the mantle are incorporated into numerical simulations of the geodynamo. Differential rotation between the inner core and the mantle is permitted by allowing the inner core to viscously deform. Calculations with a deformation time scale of 1 yr, corresponding to an average viscosity of 5 × 1016 Pa s, predict eastward rotation of the inner core with a mean rate of 0.02deg/yr relative to the mantle. Fluctuations about this mean rate of rotation occur with a typical period of 75 yr and have sufficient amplitude to explain observed changes in length of day at decadal periods. When gravitational coupling is removed, or viscous coupling is added by imposing no‐slip boundary conditions, the mean inner core rotation rate is almost an order of magnitude greater.
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Gravitational coupling between the inner core and the mantle complicates the pattern of inner core rotation, resulting in non-steady rotation rates.
“The gravitational coupling between the IC and the mantle complicates the pattern of the IC rotation, resulting in a complex system with non-steady rotation rates (Buffett, 1997;Buffett & Glatzmaier, 2000).”
From Pattern of Inner‐Core Differential Rotation From Long‐Term Earthquake Sequences and USArray Network (2026) · cites this paper as Buffett & Glatzmaier, 2000
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Seismological evidence for differential rotation of the Earth's inner core
Song, X., & Richards, P. G. (1996) · Nature · doi:10.1038/382221a0 · Cited by 445 · see citing works
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Research works printed but not linked: 1
- Roberts, P.H. and G.A. Glatzmaier, Geodynamo theory and sim- ulations, Rev. Mod. Phys., in press, 2000.
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Tkalčić, H. (2024) · Geophysical Research Letters · doi:10.1029/2023gl107043 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Pattern of Inner‐Core Differential Rotation From Long‐Term Earthquake Sequences and USArray Network
Wu, K., Song, X., & Yang, Y. (2026) · Geophysical Research Letters · doi:10.1029/2025gl119295 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
- Authors
- Buffett, B. A., & Glatzmaier, G. A.
- Affiliations
- University of British Columbia (CA)
- University of California, Santa Cruz (US)
- ORCID
- Buffett, Bruce A.
- Venue
- Geophysical Research Letters
- Publisher
- American Geophysical Union (AGU)
- Published
- 2000-10
- Volume
- 27
- Issue
- 19
- Pages
- 3125-3128
- ISSN
- 0094-8276 (ISSN-L)
- 1944-8007
- OpenAlex
- W2056786549
- Cited by
- 85
- References
- 1
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 2 · 2019: 2 · 2017: 6 · 2016: 3 · 2015: 7 · 2014: 2 · 2013: 4 · 2012: 2
- FWCI
- 1.57
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Geophysical Research Letters (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Science Foundation
- National Centre for Supercomputing Applications
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Geomagnetism and Paleomagnetism Studies
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Geophysics › High-pressure geophysics and materials
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Oceanography › Geophysics and Gravity Measurements
- Keywords
- inner core rotation, geodynamo, gravitational coupling, differential rotation, viscous deformation, length of day variations, no-slip boundary condition, core-mantle boundary
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