Treaties on Geophysics: Core Dynamics, Volume 8, provides a comprehensive review of the current state of understanding of core dynamics. The book begins by analyzing a subject of long-standing and on-going controversy: the gross energetics of the core. It then explains the important elements of dynamo theory; actual fluid motions in the core; the basic physical principles involved in thermochemical convection in the core and the basic equations governing the convection; and turbulence and the small-scale dynamics of the core. This is followed by discussions of the state of knowledge on rotation-induced core flows; the use of first-principles numerical models of self-sustaining fluid dynamos; and the behavior of polarity reversals in numerical dynamo models. The remaining chapters cover the various roles the inner core plays in core dynamics and the geodynamo; experiments that have shaped knowledge about the flows in the core that produce the geodynamo and govern its evolution; and ways the mantle can affect core dynamics, and corresponding ways the core can affect the mantle.

Earth's Core: Geophysics of a Planet's Deepest Interior provides a multidisciplinary approach to Earth's core, including seismology, mineral physics, geomagnetism, and geodynamics. The book examines current observations, experiments, and theories; identifies outstanding research questions; and suggests future directions for study. With topics ranging from the structure of the core-mantle boundary region, to the chemical and physical properties of the core, the workings of the geodynamo, inner core seismology and dynamics, and core formation, this book offers a multidisciplinary perspective on what we know and what we know we have yet to discover. The book begins with the fundamental material and concepts in seismology, mineral physics, geomagnetism, and geodynamics, accessible from a wide range of backgrounds. The book then builds on this foundation to introduce current research, including observations, experiments, and theories. By identifying unsolved problems and promising routes to their solutions, the book is intended to motivate further research, making it a valuable resource both for students entering Earth and planetary sciences and for researchers in a particular subdiscipline who need to broaden their understanding.