Related papers: Discriminating among Earth composition models usin…
Chemical and physical Earth models agree little as to the radioactive power of the planet. Each predicts a range of radioactive powers, overlapping slightly with the other at about 24 TW, and together spanning 14-46 TW. Approximately 20 %…
Antineutrinos born in the U and Th decay chains inside the Earth (``Geoneutrinos'') carry out information on the amount and distribution of radiogenic heat sources, which is of fundamental importance for geophysics. Models of the Earth…
We predict geoneutrino fluxes in a reference model based on a detailed description of Earth's crust and mantle and using the best available information on the abundances of uranium, thorium, and potassium inside Earth's layers. We estimate…
The decay of the primordial isotopes $^{238}\mathrm{U}$, $^{235}\mathrm{U}$, $^{232}\mathrm{Th}$, and $^{40}\mathrm{K}$ have contributed to the terrestrial heat budget throughout the Earth's history. Hence the individual abundance of those…
Order of magnitude estimates of radiogenic heat and antineutrino production are given, using the San Marco cathedral as an example. Prospects of determining the radiogenic contribution to terrestrial heat by detection of antineutrinos from…
Uranium and thorium are the main heat producing elements in the earth. Their quantities and distributions, which specify the flux of detectable antineutrinos generated by the beta decay of their daughter isotopes, remain unmeasured.…
We estimate terrestrial antineutrino and neutrino fluxes according to different models of Earth composition. We find large variations, corresponding to uncertainties on the estimated $U$, $Th$ and $K$ abundances in the mantle. Information…
Geo-neutrino detection can determine the amount of long-lived radioactive elements within our planet, thus providing a direct test of the Bulk Silicate Earth (BSE) model and fixing the radiogenic contribution to the terrestrial heat. We…
Geo-neutrinos emitted by heat-producing elements (U, Th and K) represent a unique probe of the Earth interior. The characterization of their fluxes is subject, however, to rather large and highly correlated uncertainties. The geochemical…
We review a new interdisciplinary field between Geology and Physics: the study of the Earth's geo-neutrino flux. We describe competing models for the composition of the Earth, present geological insights into the make up of the continental…
Decays of radionuclides throughout the Earth's interior produce geothermal heat, but also are a source of antineutrinos. The (angle-integrated) geoneutrino flux places an integral constraint on the terrestrial radionuclide distribution. In…
The Kamioka liquid scintillator anti-neutrino detector (KamLAND) is a low-energy and low-background neutrino detector which could be a useful probe for determining the U and Th abundances of the Earth. We constructed a model of the Earth in…
The earth's surface heat flux is 46$\pm$3 TW (terrawatts, 10$^{12}$ watts). Although many assume we know the earth's abundance and distribution of radioactive heat producing elements (i.e., U, Th, and K), estimates for the mantle's heat…
A significant fraction of the 44TW of heat dissipation from the Earth's interior is believed to originate from the decays of terrestrial uranium and thorium. The only estimates of this radiogenic heat, which is the driving force for mantle…
Geo-reactor models suggest the existence of natural nuclear reactors at different deep-earth locations with loosely defined output power. Reactor fission products undergo beta decay with the emission of electron antineutrinos, which…
The terrestrial distribution of U, Th, and K abundances governs the thermal evolution, traces the differentiation, and reflects the bulk composition of the earth. Comparing the bulk earth composition to chondritic meteorites estimates the…
A combination of several sources including: radiogenic heating, processes of mantle and core formation and differentiation, delayed radiogenic heating, earthquakes, and tidal friction account for the surface heat flux in the Earth.…
Debate continues on the amount and distribution of radioactive heat producing elements (i.e., U, Th, and K) in the Earth, with estimates for mantle heat production varying by an order of magnitude. Constraints on the bulk-silicate Earth's…
Roughly 40% of the Earth's total heat flow is powered by radioactive decays in the crust and mantle. Geo-neutrinos produced by these decays provide important clues about the origin, formation and thermal evolution of our planet, as well as…
Geo-neutrinos, electron antineutrinos from natural radioactive decays inside the Earth, bring to the surface unique information about our planet. The new techniques in neutrino detection opened a door into a completely new…