TNRTB Archive – Retained for reference information
A team of American geophysicists has found more evidence for the fine-tuned design of planet Earth for the benefit of advanced life. Using high-pressure laboratory experiments and theoretical calculations, they showed that the archives of seismic data could only be explained if a thin, specially composed layer existed between the lower mantle and the outer liquid core of the earth. This newly identified layer would be made up of iron-rich silicate as much as 20% denser than normal lower mantle material. Evidently, physical/chemical reactions at the core-mantle boundary are responsible for the formation of this enigmatic layer. Several physical characteristics of this layer, including its magnetism, diffusivity, elasticity, and anisotropy, would need to be fine-tuned to sustain the kind of dynamo and plate tectonics at the level and duration that advanced life on Earth demands.
Wendy L. Mao et al., “Iron-Rich Silicates in the Earth’s ‘D’ Layer,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA 102 (2005): 9751-53.
Analysis performed on thousands of ancient continental rock reveals the complex interplay of geological and biological process that prepared Earth for human life.
