What’s the News: In geologists’ traditional view of the middle of the Earth, the solid inner core is gradually growing as more of the liquid core freezes, as the planet continues its billions-of-years-long process of cooling off. But now scientists are suggesting that parts of the solid inner core get so hot that they turn liquid, and that this is all linked to what’s happening in the Earth’s crust—meaning that our the earthquakes, volcanoes, and plate tectonics that we see are connected to the very heart of the planet.

How the Heck:

Using computer models and seismology data, the researchers discovered that parts of the mantle can become hot enough that heat is forced back into the core, melting “a small fraction of the inner core’s surface.” They say it’s possible that around 1% of the inner core’s surface is melting, which is roughly 77,000 square miles.
Below the Pacific Ocean’s seismically active “Ring of Fire,” for example, heat is expelled from Earth’s ...