Melting of Iron at Earth’s Inner Core Boundary Based on Fast X-ray Diffraction

Abstract

Hot Enough to Melt Iron Earth's core is divided into a fluid outer core and a solid inner core, both composed predominately of iron at extremely high pressures and temperatures. The boundary between these two regions is largely controlled by the melting point of iron at ∼330 GPa, which in turn influences heat transfer and geodynamo generation. Anzellini et al. (p. 464 , see the Perspective by Fei ) compressed iron in a laser-heated diamond anvil cell, tracking its structure and texture by using time-resolved x-ray diffraction as the pressure increased to 200 GPa. The melting curve suggests the possibility of high heat flux and partial melting at the core-mantle boundary.