Anisotropy in the Inner Core: Could It Be Due To Low-Order Convection?

A recently assembled data set of inner core-sensitive free oscillation splitting measurements and body wave differential travel times provides constraints on the patterns of anisotropy in the Earth's inner core. Applying a formalism that allows departures from radial symmetry and cylindrical anisotropy results in models with P-wave velocity distributions whose strength and pattern are incompatible with frozen-in anisotropy, but rather suggest a simple large-scale convection regime in the inner core.