Earth's magnetic poles are caused by convection currents in the liquid outer core.
Earth's magnetic field is widely understood and supported by scientific literature to be generated by a geodynamo driven by convection currents within its liquid outer core.
The claim is a specific, empirical statement about ge geodynamo that is well-supported by multiple papers in geophysics (e.g., papers 8, 9, 10, 11) detailing how core convection generates Earth's magnetic field.
Schaeffer N, Labrosse S, Aurnou JM. Energetically expensive dynamo action in Earth's basal magma ocean.. 2025. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2507575122
Discusses geodynamo action and convection in the context of Earth's magnetic field history.
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Alka Tripathy-Lang. How Geodynamo Models Churn the Outer Core. 2021. https://doi.org/10.1029/2021eo154727
Notes that simulations of Earth's outer core reproduce magnetic fields matching paleomagnetic data through convective processes.
Thomas Frasson. Heterogeneous heat flux from mantle convection simulations : impact on the geodynamo and magnetic reversals. https://doi.org/10.70675/c4656d27zcfddz4b18z9500z287025e94346
Explains that Earth's magnetic field is generated by convection of liquid iron in the core producing a dynamo effect.
David W Hughes, Fausto Cattaneo. Strong-field dynamo action in rapidly rotating convection with no inertia.. 2016. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.93.061101
States that Earth's magnetic field is generated by dynamo action driven by convection in the outer core.
Takehiro Miyagoshi, Akira Kageyama, Tetsuya Sato. Zonal flow formation in the Earth's core.. 2010. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature08754
Investigates the turbulent convection regimes of the outer core that drive the geodynamo.
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