New radioactivity model may help in the search for hot rocks with geothermal potential.
A new radioactivity model of Earth's ancient rocks calls into question current models for the formation of Earth's continental crust, suggesting continents may have risen out of the sea much earlier than previously thought but were destroyed, leaving little trace.
Scientists at the University of Adelaide have published two studies on a model of rock radioactivity over billions of years which found that the Earth's continental crust may have been thicker, much earlier than current models suggest, with continents possibly present as far back as four billion years.
The researchers say the new radioactivity model also may help in the search for hot rocks with geothermal potential and can be used to produce more accurate models of oil maturation in sedimentary basins.
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More information: D. Hasterok et al. A 4 Ga record of granitic heat production: Implications for geodynamic evolution and crustal composition of the early Earth, Precambrian Research (2019). DOI: 10.1016/j.precamres.2019.105375
M. Gard et al. Variations in continental heat production from 4 Ga to the present: Evidence from geochemical data, Lithos (2019). DOI: 10.1016/j.lithos.2019.05.034
