A reference Earth model for the heat‐producing elements and associated geoneutrino flux

Abstract

[1] The recent geoneutrino experimental results from KamLAND (Kamioka Liquid Scintillator Antineutrino Detector) and Borexino detectors reveal the usefulness of analyzing the Earth's geoneutrino flux, as it provides a constraint on the strength of the radiogenic heat power, and this, in turn, provides a test of compositional models of the bulk silicate Earth (BSE). This flux is dependent on the amount and distribution of heat-producing elements (HPEs: U, Th, and K) in the Earth's interior. We have developed a geophysically based, three-dimensional global reference model for the abundances and distributions of HPEs in the BSE. The structure and composition of the outermost portion of the Earth, the crust and underlying lithospheric mantle, are detailed in the reference model; this portion of the Earth has the greatest influence on the geoneutrino fluxes. The reference model combines three existing geophysical models of the global crust and yields an average crustal thickness of 34.4 AE 4.1 km in the continents and 8.0 AE 2.7 km in the oceans, and a total mass (in 10 22 kg) of oceanic, continental, and bulk crust is 0.67 AE 0.23, 2.06 AE 0.25, and 2.73 AE 0.48, respectively. In situ seismic velocity provided by CRUST 2.0 allows us to estimate the average composition of the deep continental crust by using new and updated compositional databases for amphibolite and granulite facies rocks in combination with laboratory ultrasonic velocities measurements. An updated xenolithic peridotite database is used to represent the average composition of continental lithospheric mantle. Monte Carlo simulation is used to predict the geoneutrino flux at 16 selected locations ©2013. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved. 2003 and to track the asymmetrical uncertainties of radiogenic heat power due to the log-normal distributions of HPE concentrations in crustal rocks.

The Earth expansion theory and its transition from scientific hypothesis to pseudoscientific belief

“…If the neutrons were captured by preexisting elements, the resulting unstable isotopes would also decay, emitting antineutrinos. The geoneutrino flux is currently measured in various underground laboratories worldwide with the aim of measuring the amount and distribution of heat-producing radioactive elements, and the results of these experiments agree with a reference Earth model based on standard geophysical theories (Dye et al, 2008;Huang et al, 2013). According to Scalera (2003b) the rate of new matter generated inside Earth since the Early Jurassic is 1.37 × 10 16 kg yr −1 , while, according to Betelev (2009), the rate of mass increase is 5 × 10 15 kg yr −1 , and the bulk of this mass will emit antineutrinos within a very short time of its appearance.…”

“…According to Scalera (2003b) the rate of new matter generated inside Earth since the Early Jurassic is 1.37 × 10 16 kg yr −1 , while, according to Betelev (2009), the rate of mass increase is 5 × 10 15 kg yr −1 , and the bulk of this mass will emit antineutrinos within a very short time of its appearance. Huang et al (2013), in their reference model of heat-producing elements, estimate the amount of U, Th and K radioactive isotopes in the planet to be 5 × 10 15 kg. Considering the half-life of U, Th and K, only a fraction of this mass decays every year, emitting antineutrinos.…”

Potential of geo-neutrino measurements at JUNO

“…[10], an accuracy of 18% is estimated for the crust geo-neutrino contribution using the global reference Earth model in Ref. [11]. Using this uncertainty value, we obtain the blue solid line in Fig.…”

“…Strati et al 32 protons). The asymmetric 1σ errors are obtained from Monte Carlo simulations following the method of Huang et al [11] and account only for uncertainties from the lithosphere. From this signal of U we can then calculate the Th contribution based on an assume chondritic Th/U ratio.…”

KamLAND: geo-neutrino measurement in Japan

“…If the reference model [Enomoto et al 2007] used in the analysis in Gando et al [2013] is replaced with a modern model [Huang et al 2013], the radiogenic heat is estimated to be 14.9 +9.8 −8.3 TW from U and Th. The increase of the radiogenic heat estimation is mainly due to the change in the crustal geo o − e flux contribution, which is the offset of the flux-heat conversion function as shown in Figure 4.…”