LAUSR

Abstract Seeking geophysical explanations for the periodic ∼six-year oscillation (SYO) previously found in the Earth's length-of-day variation (ΔLOD), we analyze the global GPS displacement and geomagnetic data using the array processing technique of OSE (Optimal Sequence Estimation), and find clear evidences of the 6-yr signals which manifest as a westward rotary propagating wave of the sectoral spherical-harmonic pattern of degree-2 order-2 ( Y 22 ). Based on the period, the spatial pattern, and the amplitudes and the estimated phases that exhibit consistent synchronicity among the three datasets, we propose the following scenario: The mantle-inner core gravitational (MICG) coupling gives rise to a 6-yr axial torsional libration of the inner core controlled by the sectoral Y 22 density anomalies, or the equatorial ellipticities, in the inner core and the (lower) mantle, the angular momentum exchange between which manifests as the SYO in ΔLOD. It forces into action a pressure wave-2 cyclic in 6 yr through the fluid outer core, which in turn produces the corresponding GPS and geomagnetic variations. Our findings provide insight into the dynamics of the deep Earth, and corroborate a positive density anomaly for the lower-mantle Large Low-Shear-Velocity Provinces.