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Berkeley Lab - New Tool To Identify The Source of Earth’s Heating
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July 28, 2005
First Measurement of Geoneutrinos at KamLAND
Results from KamLAND, an underground neutrino detector in central Japan, show that anti-electron neutrinos emanating from the earth, so-called geoneutrinos, can be used as a unique window into the interior of our planet, revealing information that is hidden from other probes.
Our Mysterious Inner Planet
Surprising as it may seem, for all that we have learned about far distant astrophysical events like deep-space supernovae, dark energy, or even the Big Bang itself, the interior of our own planet remains a mysterious and largely unexplored frontier. Among the many questions is the source of terrestrial heat. The total amount of heat given off by the earth at any given moment has most recently been estimated at about 31 terawatts (TW). A terawatt is equivalent to one trillion watts. For comparison, the average energy consumption of the United States at any given moment is 0.3 trillion watts.
“Our results show that measuring the flux of Earth’s geoneutrinos could provide scientists with an assay of our planet´s total amount of radioactivity,” said Freedman. “Measuring geoneutrinos could also serve as a deep probe for studying portions of the planet that are otherwise inaccessible to us.”
Said Stanford’s Gratta, “There are still lots of theories about what’s really inside the earth and so it’s still very much an open issue. The neutrinos are a second tool, so we’re doubling the number of tools suddenly that we have, going from using only seismic waves to the point where we’re doing essentially simple-minded chemical analysis.”
In measuring geoneutrinos generated in the decay of natural radioactive elements in the earth´s interior, scientists believe it should be possible to get a three-dimensional picture of the earth´s composition and shell structure. This could provide answers to such as questions as how much terrestrial heat comes from radioactive decays, and how much is a "primordial" remnant from the birth of our planet. It might also help identify the source of Earth’s magnetic field, and what drives the geodynamo.
[link to www.physorg.com]
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