Carbon-depleted outer core revealed by sound velocity measurements of liquid iron–carbon alloy

Yoichi Nakajima (), Saori Imada, Kei Hirose, Tetsuya Komabayashi, Haruka Ozawa, Shigehiko Tateno, Satoshi Tsutsui, Yasuhiro Kuwayama and Alfred Q. R. Baron
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Yoichi Nakajima: Materials Dynamics Laboratory, RIKEN SPring-8 Center, RIKEN
Saori Imada: Tokyo Institute of Technology
Kei Hirose: Earth-Life Science Institute, Tokyo Institute of Technology
Tetsuya Komabayashi: Tokyo Institute of Technology
Haruka Ozawa: Laboratory of Ocean-Earth Life Evolution Research, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology
Shigehiko Tateno: Earth-Life Science Institute, Tokyo Institute of Technology
Satoshi Tsutsui: SPring-8, Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute
Yasuhiro Kuwayama: Geodynamics Research Center, Ehime University
Alfred Q. R. Baron: Materials Dynamics Laboratory, RIKEN SPring-8 Center, RIKEN

Nature Communications, 2015, vol. 6, issue 1, 1-7

Abstract: Abstract The relative abundance of light elements in the Earth’s core has long been controversial. Recently, the presence of carbon in the core has been emphasized, because the density and sound velocities of the inner core may be consistent with solid Fe7C3. Here we report the longitudinal wave velocity of liquid Fe84C16 up to 70 GPa based on inelastic X-ray scattering measurements. We find the velocity to be substantially slower than that of solid iron and Fe3C and to be faster than that of liquid iron. The thermodynamic equation of state for liquid Fe84C16 is also obtained from the velocity data combined with previous density measurements at 1 bar. The longitudinal velocity of the outer core, about 4% faster than that of liquid iron, is consistent with the presence of 4–5 at.% carbon. However, that amount of carbon is too small to account for the outer core density deficit, suggesting that carbon cannot be a predominant light element in the core.

Date: 2015
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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms9942

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