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Rutter et al. 2002
Rutter, M.D., Secco, R.A., Uchida, T., Liu, H., Wang, Y., Rivers, M.L. and Sutton, S.R. (2002). Towards evaluating the viscosity of the Earth's outer core: An experimental high pressure study of liquid Fe-S (8.5 wt.% S). Geophysical Research Letters 29: doi: 10.1029/2001GL014392. issn: 0094-8276.

In-situ high pressure viscosity measurements, using synchrotron X-ray radiography, have been carried out on liquid Fe-S (8.5 wt.% S) at pressures up to 6 GPa and at 1823 K. Here we show that (i) the effect of pressure on the isothermal viscosity is substantial, with an apparent activation volume of 5.8 cm3/mol; and (ii) viscosity is constant along the pressure dependent melting boundary. Assuming the independence of viscosity along the melting boundary up to core pressures, our results yield a viscosity for the Earth's outer core, at the inner core boundary, of 1.6 ¿ 10-2 Pa s. On this basis, we present a revised viscosity profile across the outer core.

BACKGROUND DATA FILES

Abstract

Keywords
Mineral Physics, High-pressure behavior, Geomagnetism and Paleomagnetism, Core processes, Tectonophysics, Earth's interior--composition and state
Journal
Geophysical Research Letters
http://www.agu.org/journals/gl/
Publisher
American Geophysical Union
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