What is the evidence that the outer core consists mostly of liquid iron? What is the evidence that the outer core contains elements other than iron?

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The P- and S-wave shadow zones imply a liquid outer core. The evidence that it consists mostly of iron include: 1) iron is the only common element that accounts for the high density of the core; 2) liquid iron is consistent with Earth's magnetic field; 3) iron meteorites may be analogs for Earth's core. The evidence that the outer core contains elements other than iron is based on density measurements. The outer-core density is less than pure iron and probably contains some lighter elements such as oxygen, sulfur, silicon, potassium, or hydrogen.

Environmental & Atmospheric Sciences

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