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Re-naming D Double Prime"Knowledge about the dynamics of the D double prime region is a key to unlock some fundamental mysteries of the Earth heat engine which governs a wide range of global geophysical processes from tectonics to geodynamo." This benign sentence makes complete sense to many geophysicists. But for many others, it makes sense all except the odd nomenclature "D double prime". One knows about the crust, upper and lower mantle, outer and inner core, but where is the D double prime region? What meaning does it try to convey? Where is D prime region, or D, or A, B, C regions for that matter, and are there higher-order primes? How does such an odd name come about anyway? D double prime, or more "simply" D", is a generic designation given to the thin shell, about 200 km thick, of the lowermost mantle just above the core-mantle boundary inside the Earth. Incidentally, whether D" is "simpler" than "D double prime" depends on whether you are pronouncing it or writing/typing it; and D" can be confusing to readers in distinguishing quotation marks (such as in the above sentences) and second derivatives, and to word processors in spelling check and indexing.
Document ID
19990115809
Acquisition Source
Goddard Space Flight Center
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
Authors
Chao, Benjamin F.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD United States)
Date Acquired
August 19, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 1999
Subject Category
Geophysics
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.

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