What is the cause of Geodynamo?

It is caused by electric currents which are generated in the same way as with a self-excited dynamo: by the movement of an electrical conductor in a magnetic field. This ‘geodynamo’ is driven by the thermal convection of the liquid iron inside the Earth.

What does the geodynamo do?

Circulation in Earth’s molten outer core creates a giant dynamo that generates our magnetosphere to safeguard us from solar and cosmic radiation.

Where is the geodynamo produced?

A vast sea of molten iron more than seven times the volume of the moon circulates at Earth’s core, constituting the so-called geodynamo. Until recently, scientists relied primarily on simple theories to explain the geodynamo and its magnetic mysteries.

What causes the dynamo effect?

In this dynamo mechanism, fluid motion in the Earth’s outer core moves conducting material (liquid iron) across an already existing, weak magnetic field and generates an electric current. (Heat from radioactive decay in the core is thought to induce the convective motion.)

Where is the geodynamo?

Earth’s core

At the heart of our planet, the Earth’s core is mainly composed of liquid (outer core) and solid (inner core) iron. Its formation and differentiation is one of the significant events in the early history of our planet.