Inner core differential motion confirmed by earthquake waveform doublets.
We analyzed 18 high-quality waveform doublets with time separations of up to 35 years in the South Sandwich Islands region, for which the seismic signals have traversed the inner core as PKP(DF). The doublets show a consistent temporal change of travel times at up to 58 stations in and near Alaska, and they show a dissimilarity of PKP(DF) coda. Using waveform doublets avoids artifacts of earthquake mislocations and contamination from small-scale heterogeneities. Our results confirm that Earth's inner core is rotating faster than the mantle and crust at about 0.3 degrees to 0.5 degrees per year.
Zhang
Jian
J
Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, Palisades, NY 10964, USA.
Song
Xiaodong
X
Li
Yingchun
Y
Richards
Paul G
PG
Sun
Xinlei
X
Waldhauser
Felix
F