Dynamic processes in the outer core, magnetic field and dynamo

Three-dimensional mantle structure: seismic tomography and waveform modeling. Large structures at the base of the mantle: primordial reservoir or plate graveyard? Relationship with surface observations (hot spots, etc.). Introduction of fine structure through seismology.

This lecture begins with a review of our knowledge of the Earth's magnetic field and its origin, as well as magnetic field reversals and their variations over time, and other characteristics of the Earth's field. This is followed by a presentation of our current understanding of the convective phenomena behind the Earth's dynamo, and the equations that govern it, with a reminder of how electro-magnetic self-induction works. We conclude with an overview of current numerical and experimental dynamo modeling.