Earth's Core Is Leaking

What happened

A research team at the University of Science and Technology of China says Earth's core may still be releasing hydrogen, helium and tungsten into the layers above it. The study was published on October 9 in the journal Science Advances. The team concluded that the core and the mantle (the thick layer between the core and the crust) have been exchanging material for the planet's whole 4.5-billion-year history.

How Earth works inside

When Earth first formed, it was extremely hot and was mostly molten rock, called magma. As the planet cooled, heavy materials sank to form the core. Lighter materials formed the mantle and the crust, the outer skin we live on. Some elements from the early days of Earth got trapped deep inside.

Key facts

• The study was published on October 9 in Science Advances.
• The history being studied is 4.5 billion years long.
• Elements studied: hydrogen, helium and tungsten.
• Clues came from volcanic rock in places such as Iceland and Baffin Island in Canada.
• Scientists used computer simulations with help from machine learning, a type of artificial intelligence that finds patterns in data.

Why it matters

This research suggests Earth's inside is not a sealed box. Instead, the core and mantle may keep trading chemical elements over billions of years. This could change how scientists understand the planet's long-term evolution. The team says its next step is to find out how much material escapes from the core and how this affects Earth over time.

What to watch

• How much material actually leaves the core.
• How this process changes Earth's long-term evolution.
• Whether other studies confirm these findings.