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hting those who did not agree with him。 he died of cancer in 1991； but shortlybefore his death he “lashed out at his critics in a polemic in an australian earth science journalthat charged them with perpetuating myths；” according to a report inearth magazine in 1998。
“he died a bitter man；” reported a colleague。
the crust and part of the outer mantle together are called the lithosphere （from the greeklithos； meaning “stone”）； which in turn floats on top of a layer of softer rock called theasthenosphere （from greek words meaning “without strength”）； but such terms are neverentirely satisfactory。 to say that the lithosphere floats on top of the asthenosphere suggests adegree of easy buoyancy that isn’t quite right。 similarly it is misleading to think of the rocksas flowing in anything like the way we think of materials flowing on the surface。 the rocksare viscous； but only in the same way that glass is。 it may not look it； but all the glass on earthis flowing downward under the relentless drag of gravity。 remove a pane of really old glassfrom the window of a european cathedral and it will be noticeably thicker at the bottom thanat the top。 that is the sort of “flow” we are talking about。 the hour hand on a clock movesabout ten thousand times faster than the “flowing” rocks of the mantle。
the movements occur not just laterally as the earth’s plates move across the surface； but upand down as well； as rocks rise and fall under the churning process known as convection。
convection as a process was first deduced by the eccentric count von rumford at the end ofthe eighteenth century。 sixty years later an english vicar named osmond fisher prescientlysuggested that the earth’s interior might well be fluid enough for the contents to move about；but that idea took a very long time to gain support。
in about 1970； when geophysicists realized just how much turmoil was going on downthere； it came as a considerable shock。 as shawna vogel put it in the book naked earth： thenew geophysics： “it was as if scientists had spent decades figuring out the layers of theearth’s atmosphere—troposphere； stratosphere； and so forth—and then had suddenly foundout about wind。”
how deep the convection process goes has been a matter of controversy ever since。 somesay it begins four hundred miles down； others two thousand miles below us。 the problem； asdonald trefil has observed； is that “there are two sets of data； from two different disciplines；that cannot be reconciled。” geochemists say that certain elements on earth’s surface cannothave e from the upper mantle； but must have e from deeper within the earth。
therefore the materials in the upper and lower mantle must at least occasionally mix。
seismologists insist that there is no evidence to support such a thesis。
so all that can be said is that at some slightly indeterminate point as we head toward thecenter of earth we leave the asthenosphere and plunge into pure mantle。 considering that itaccounts for 82 percent of the earth’s volume and 65 percent of its mass； the mantle doesn’tattract a great deal of attention； largely because the things that interest earth scientists andgeneral readers alike happen either deeper down （as with magnetism） or nearer the surface （aswith earthquakes）。 we know that to a depth of about a hundred miles the mantle consistspredominantly of a type of rock known as peridotite； but what fills the space beyond isuncertain。 according to a nature report； it seems not to be peridotite。 more than this we donot know。
beneath the mantle are the two cores—a solid inner core and a liquid outer one。 needless tosay； our understanding of the nature of these cores is indirect； but scientists can make somereasonable assumptions。 they know that the pressures at the center of the earth aresufficiently high—something over three million times those found at the surface—to turn anyrock there solid。 they also know from earth’s history （among other clues） that the inner coreis very good at retaining its heat。 although it is little more than a guess； it is thought that inover four billion years the temperature at the core has fallen by no more than 200°f。 no oneknows exactly how hot the earth’s core is； but estimates range from something over 7；000°fto 13；000°f—about as hot as the surface of the sun。
the outer core is in many ways even less well understood； though everyone is in agreementthat it is fluid and that it is the seat of magnetism。 the theory was put forward by e。 c。
bullard of cambridge university in 1949 that this fluid part of the earth’s core revolves in away that makes it； in effect； an electrical motor； creating the earth’s magnetic field。 theassumption is that the convecting fluids in the earth act somehow like the currents in wires。
exactly what happens isn’t known； but it is felt pretty certain that it is connected with the corespinning and with its being liquid。 bodies that don’t have a liquid core—the moon and mars；for instance—don’t have magnetism。
we know that earth’s magnetic field changes in power from time to time： during the age ofthe dinosaurs； it was up to three times as strong as now。 we also know that it reverses itselfevery 500；000 years or so on average； though that average hides a huge degree ofunpredictability。 the last reversal was about 750；000 years ago。 sometimes it stays put formillions of years—37 million years appears to be the longest stretch—and at other times it hasreversed after as little as 20；000 years。 altogether in the last 100 million years it has reverseditself about two hundred times； and we don’t have any real idea why。 it has been called “thegreatest unanswered question in the geological sciences。”
we may be going through a reversal now。 the earth’s magnetic field has diminished byperhaps as much as 6 percent in the last century alone。 any diminution in magnetism is likelyto be bad news； because magnetism； apart from holding notes to refrigerators and keeping ourpasses pointing the right way； plays a vital role in keeping us alive。 space is full ofdangerous cosmic rays that in the absence of magnetic protection would tear through ourbodies； leaving much of our dna in useless tatters。 when the magnetic field is working；these rays are safely herded away from the earth’s surface and into two zones in near spacecalled the van allen belts。 they also interact with particles in the upper atmosphere to createthe bewitching veils of light known as the auroras。
a big part of the reason for our ignorance； interestingly enough； is that traditionally therehas been little effort to coordinate what’s happening on top of the earth with what’s going oninside。 according to shawna vogel： “geologists and geophysicists rarely go to the samemeetings or collaborate on the same problems。”
perhaps nothing better demonstrates our inadequate grasp of the dynamics of the earth’sinterior than how badly we are caught out when it acts up； and it would be hard to e upwith a more salutary reminder of the limitations of our understanding than the eruption ofmount st。 helens in washington in 1980。
at that time； the lower forty…eight united states had not seen a volcanic eruption for ove