Core–mantle boundary

The uppermost section of the outer core is thought to be about 500–1,800 K hotter than the overlying mantle, creating a thermal boundary layer. The boundary is thought to harbor topography, much like Earth's surface, that is supported by solid-state convection within the overlying mantle. Variations in the thermal properties of the CMB may affect how the outer core's iron-rich fluids flow, which are ultimately responsible for Earth's magnetic field.

D″ region

An approximately 200 km thick layer of the lower mantle directly above the CMB is referred to as the D″ region ("D double-prime" or "D prime prime") and is sometimes included in discussions regarding the core–mantle boundary zone. The D″ name originates from geophysicist Keith Bullen's designations for the Earth's layers. His system was to label each layer alphabetically, A through G, with the crust as 'A' and the inner core as 'G'. In his 1942 publication of his model, the entire lower mantle was the D layer. In 1949, Bullen found his 'D' layer to actually be two different layers. The upper part of the D layer, about 1,800 km thick, was renamed D′ (D prime) and the lower part (the bottom 200 km) was named D″. Later it was found that D" is non-spherical. In 1993, Czechowski found that inhomogeneities in D" form structures analogous to continents (i.e. core-continents). They move in time and determine some properties of hotspots and mantle convection. Later research supported this hypothesis.