First global antineutrino emission map highlights Earth's energy budget

[n2doc]

The first-ever global map of antineutrino flux, which accounts for natural and human-made sources of antineutrinos, with the latter making up less than 1 percent of the total flux. Credit: National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency/AGM2015

The neutrino and its antimatter cousin, the antineutrino, are the tiniest subatomic particles known to science. These particles are byproducts of nuclear reactions within stars (including our sun), supernovae, black holes and human-made nuclear reactors. They also result from radioactive decay processes deep within the Earth, where radioactive heat and the heat left over from the planet's formation fuels plate tectonics, volcanoes and Earth's magnetic field.

Now, a team of geologists and physicists has generated the world's first global map of antineutrino emissions. The map, published online in the journal Scientific Reports on September 1, 2015, provides an important baseline image of the energy budget of Earth's interior and could help scientists monitor new and existing human-made sources of radiation. The study was led by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency with contributions from researchers at the University of Maryland, the University of Hawaii, Hawaii Pacific University and Ultralytics, LLC.

"The interior of Earth is quite difficult to see, even with modern technology. Locating the activity of antineutrinos allows us to create images that our predecessors had only dreamed of," said William McDonough, professor of geology at UMD and a co-author of the study. "This map should prove particularly useful for future studies of processes within the lower crust and mantle."

Neutrinos are notoriously difficult to study; their tiny size and lack of electrical charge enables them to pass straight through matter without reacting. At any given moment, trillions of neutrinos are passing through every structure and living thing on Earth. Luckily, antineutrinos are slightly easier to detect, through a process known as inverse beta decay. Spotting these reactions requires a huge detector the size of a small office building, housed about a mile underground to shield it from cosmic rays that could yield false positive results.

more
http://phys.org/news/2015-09-global-antineutrino-emission-highlights-earth.html

[DhhD]

1. Seems the particles emanate the strongest from rifts, crumbling

cratons uplifts and edges.

[bananas]

2. Maps of reactors, faultlines, earthquake zones

These are from March 2011 and are a little out of date.

http://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2011/mar/18/nuclear-reactors-power-stations-world-list-map
Nuclear power stations and reactors operational around the world: listed and mapped
Friday 18 March 2011
Simon Rogers
Graphic by Jenny Ridley

http://maptd.com/worldwide-map-of-nuclear-power-stations-and-earthquake-zones/
Worldwide map of nuclear power stations and earthquake zones
Posted on March 15, 2011 by James

[bananas]

3. The brown dots are reactors, but what's that huge smudge under Tibet? nt