What keeps Earth cooking?
Sunday, July 17, 2011 - 14:30
in Earth & Climate
From core to surface, a constant flow of trillions of watts of heat enables Earth's magnetic field, spreads the sea floors, and keeps continents on the move. Much of it comes from the radioactive decay of elements in the crust and mantle, but how much? By measuring neutrinos from deep in the Earth, scientists have made the most precise estimate yet of radiogenic heat.