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Updated: Feb 27, 2026

Measurements of Soil Carbon by Neutron-Gamma Analysis in Static and Scanning Modes
Published on: August 24, 2017
Exploring the hidden interior of the Earth with directional neutrino measurements
Michael Leyton1,2,3, Stephen Dye4, Jocelyn Monroe2,3,5
1Institut de Física d'Altes Energies, Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Facultat Ciencies Nord, Campus UAB, Bellaterra 08193, Spain.
Abstract:
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 the composition of its interior. Previous measurements of geo-neutrinos have all relied on the detection of inverse beta decay reactions, which are insensitive to the contribution from potassium and do not provide model-independent information about the spatial distribution of geo-neutrino sources within the Earth. Here we present a method for measuring previously unresolved components of Earth's radiogenic heating using neutrino-electron elastic scattering and low-background, direction-sensitive tracking detectors. We calculate the exposures needed to probe various contributions to the total geo-neutrino flux, specifically those associated to potassium, the mantle and the core. The measurements proposed here chart a course for pioneering exploration of the veiled inner workings of the Earth.
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