Giant rock blobs deep inside Earth act like steering wheels for our magnetic field
Massive, continent-sized structures of dense rock sitting near Earth's core behave like giant steering wheels, influencing the movement of molten iron and guiding the behavior of our planet's protective magnetic field.
Two gargantuan masses known as Large Low-Shear-Velocity Provinces sit nearly 1,800 miles beneath Africa and the Pacific Ocean. These dense rock blobs, each larger than the moon, disrupt the flow of liquid iron in the outer core. By obstructing this molten metal, they effectively steer the convection currents that generate our magnetic field.
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