We present updated estimates for the trace element composition of the upper continental crust (UCC) by integrating newly acquired geochemical data from 139 loess samples across Asia, Europe, North America, and South America with a comprehensive compilation of data from loess, shales, diamictites, and continental igneous rocks. The new concentration estimates for first-row transition metals,...
Large-volume neutrino telescopes designed for TeV neutrino astronomy can probe the Earth’s interior through the absorption of atmospheric neutrinos traversing the planet. This provides an independent constraint on the Earth’s radial density profile, complementing conventional methods based on seismic velocity measurements. The next-generation TRopIcal DEep-sea Neutrino Telescope (TRIDENT),...
Geoneutrinos are the electron antineutrinos produced by beta decays of radioactive isotopes within the Earth. By detecting them, we can obtain information about the planet's radiogenic heat production and the distribution of heat-producing elements in the Earth.
To date, four detectors (KamLAND, Borexino, SNO+, and JUNO) have successfully detected geoneutrinos.
However, these detectors...
Geophysical studies indicate that the Earth’s interior is highly heterogeneous, containing various large-scale structures. One of the most prominent features is the Large Low Velocity Provinces (LLVPs), imaged by seismic tomography as regions with anomalously slow earthquake wave velocities relative to the surrounding mantle beneath the Pacific Ocean and Africa. The origin of these structures...
The Earth Potassium β⁻ decay produces antineutrinos below the 1.8 MeVinverse-beta-decay(IBD) threshold on free protons, rendering $^{40}$K geoneutrinos invisible to every detector that has observed U/Th geoneutrinos to date. Yet $^{40}$K is expected to contribute significantly to Earth’s total radiogenic heat — the largest unmeasured component of the planetary heat budget and a direct...
