Geophysical and geochemical constraints on geoneutrino fluxes from Earth's mantle

Knowledge of the amount and distribution of radiogenic heating in the mantle is crucial for understanding the dynamics of the Earth, including its thermal evolution, the style and planform of mantle convection, and the energetics of the core. Although the flux of heat from the surface of the planet is robustly estimated, the contributions of radiogenic heating and secular cooling remain poorly defined. Constraining the amount of heat-producing elements in the Earth will provide clues to understanding nebula condensation and planetary formation processes in early Solar System. Mantle radioactivity supplies power for mantle convection and plate tectonics, but estimates of mantle radiogenic heat production vary by a factor of more than 20. Recent experimental results demonstrate the potential for direct assessment of mantle radioactivity through observations of geoneutrinos, which are emitted by naturally occurring radionuclides. Predictions of the geoneutrino signal from the mantle exist for several established estimates of mantle composition. Here we present novel analyses, illustrating surface variations of the mantle geoneutrino signal for models of the deep mantle structure, including those based on seismic tomography. These variations have measurable differences for some models, allowing new and meaningful constraints on the dynamics of the planet. An ocean based geoneutrino detector deployed at several strategic locations will be able to discriminate between competing compositional models of the bulk silicate Earth.Comment: 34 pages, 6 tables, 5 figures, 2 supplementary figures; revised version submitted to Earth Planet. Sci. Let

Geo-neutrinos: A systematic approach to uncertainties and correlations

Geo-neutrinos emitted by heat-producing elements (U, Th and K) represent a unique probe of the Earth interior. The characterization of their fluxes is subject, however, to rather large and highly correlated uncertainties. The geochemical covariance of the U, Th and K abundances in various Earth reservoirs induces positive correlations among the associated geo-neutrino fluxes, and between these and the radiogenic heat. Mass-balance constraints in the Bulk Silicate Earth (BSE) tend instead to anti-correlate the radiogenic element abundances in complementary reservoirs. Experimental geo-neutrino observables may be further (anti)correlated by instrumental effects. In this context, we propose a systematic approach to covariance matrices, based on the fact that all the relevant geo-neutrino observables and constraints can be expressed as linear functions of the U, Th and K abundances in the Earth's reservoirs (with relatively well-known coefficients). We briefly discuss here the construction of a tentative "geo-neutrino source model" (GNSM) for the U, Th, and K abundances in the main Earth reservoirs, based on selected geophysical and geochemical data and models (when available), on plausible hypotheses (when possible), and admittedly on arbitrary assumptions (when unavoidable). We use then the GNSM to make predictions about several experiments ("forward approach"), and to show how future data can constrain - a posteriori - the error matrix of the model itself ("backward approach"). The method may provide a useful statistical framework for evaluating the impact and the global consistency of prospective geo-neutrino measurements and Earth models.Comment: 17 pages, including 4 figures. To appear on "Earth, Moon, and Planets," Special Issue on "Neutrino Geophysics," Proceedings of Neutrino Science 2005 (Honolulu, Hawaii, Dec. 2005

Differential growth sensitivity to 4-cis-hydroxy-L-proline of transformed rodent cell lines.

The effect of 4-cis-hydroxy-L-proline (CHP), a proline analogue, on the anchorage-dependent and -independent growth of several transformed rodent cell lines was studied. Mouse NIH-3T3 fibroblasts transformed by a variety of different oncogenes (Ki-ras, mos, src, fms, fes, met, and trk) by a DNA tumor virus (SV40) or by a chemical carcinogen (N-methylnitrosourea) were all found to be more sensitive (50% inhibitory dose, 20 to 55 micrograms/ml) to the dose-dependent inhibitory effects of CHP on growth in monolayer culture than were NIH-3T3 cells (50% inhibitory dose, 120 micrograms/ml). CHP was generally found to be even more effective in inhibiting the growth of these transformed cells as colonies in soft agar than in monolayer cultures. In addition, rat embryo fibroblasts (CREF) and normal rat kidney fibroblasts (NRK) after transformation with a Ki-ras oncogene exhibit a similar increase in their sensitivity to CHP-induced growth inhibition. Treatment of NRK cells with transforming growth factor alpha (TGF-alpha) and beta (TGF-beta), which reversibly induces phenotypic transformation of these cells, increases their sensitivity to CHP to a level comparable with that observed in Ki-ras-transformed NRK cells (K-NRK). The growth inhibitory effects of CHP are reversible, since removal of CHP results in a normal resumption of cell growth. CHP uptake occurs primarily through the Na+- and energy-dependent neutral amino acid transport A system, which is 6- to 7-fold more elevated in K-NRK cells compared with NRK cells. Treatment of NRK cells with TGF-alpha and/or -beta increases the uptake of [3H]methylaminoisobutyric acid on the A system to a level that is similar to that found in K-NRK cells. The functions of the Na+/K+ and Na+/H+ exchange systems are apparently necessary for the enhanced A system activity, since ouabain and amiloride can inhibit the uptake of [3H]methylaminoisobutyric acid in K-NRK cells and in NRK cells treated with TGF-alpha and/or -beta. The activity of the A system is specifically increased in K-NRK and in TGF-alpha- and/or -beta-treated NRK cells, since the other two major neutral amino acid uptake systems, the ASC and the L systems, and the Ly+ system for basic amino acid uptake show no apparent changes in their activity in NRK cells after treatment with TGF-alpha and/or -beta or in these cells after transformation with the Ki-ras oncogene. These results suggest that the differential growth sensitivity to CHP of transformed rodent cells and of normal fibroblasts treated with TGF-alpha and/or -beta is due in part to an elevated uptake of this amino acid analogue on the neutral amino acid transport A system

Dissolved methane distributions and air-sea flux in the plume of a massive seep field, Coal Oil Point, California

Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2007. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Geophysical Research Letters 34 (2007): L22603, doi:10.1029/2007GL031344.Large quantities of natural gas are emitted from the seafloor into the stratified coastal ocean near Coal Oil Point, Santa Barbara Channel, California. Methane was quantified in the down current surface water at 79 stations in a 280 km2 study area. The methane plume spread over an area of ~70 km2 and emitted on the order of 5 × 104 mol d−1 to the atmosphere. A monthly time series at 14 stations showed variable methane concentrations which were correlated with changing sub-mesoscale surface currents. Air-sea fluxes estimated from the time series indicate that the air-sea flux derived for the 280 km2 area is representative of the daily mean flux from this area. Only 1% of the dissolved methane originating from Coal Oil Point enters the atmosphere within the study area. Most of it appears to be transported below the surface and oxidized by microbial activity.The research was supported by the University of California Energy Institute and the National Science Foundation (OCE 0447395)

U and Th content in the Central Apennines continental crust: a contribution to the determination of the geo-neutrinos flux at LNGS

The regional contribution to the geo-neutrino signal at Gran Sasso National Laboratory (LNGS) was determined based on a detailed geological, geochemical and geophysical study of the region. U and Th abundances of more than 50 samples representative of the main lithotypes belonging to the Mesozoic and Cenozoic sedimentary cover were analyzed. Sedimentary rocks were grouped into four main "Reservoirs" based on similar paleogeographic conditions and mineralogy. Basement rocks do not outcrop in the area. Thus U and Th in the Upper and Lower Crust of Valsugana and Ivrea-Verbano areas were analyzed. Based on geological and geophysical properties, relative abundances of the various reservoirs were calculated and used to obtain the weighted U and Th abundances for each of the three geological layers (Sedimentary Cover, Upper and Lower Crust). Using the available seismic profile as well as the stratigraphic records from a number of exploration wells, a 3D modelling was developed over an area of 2^{\circ}x2^{\circ} down to the Moho depth, for a total volume of about 1.2x10^6 km^3. This model allowed us to determine the volume of the various geological layers and eventually integrate the Th and U contents of the whole crust beneath LNGS. On this base the local contribution to the geo-neutrino flux (S) was calculated and added to the contribution given by the rest of the world, yielding a Refined Reference Model prediction for the geo-neutrino signal in the Borexino detector at LNGS: S(U) = (28.7 \pm 3.9) TNU and S(Th) = (7.5 \pm 1.0) TNU. An excess over the total flux of about 4 TNU was previously obtained by Mantovani et al. (2004) who calculated, based on general worldwide assumptions, a signal of 40.5 TNU. The considerable thickness of the sedimentary rocks, almost predominantly represented by U- and Th- poor carbonatic rocks in the area near LNGS, is responsible for this difference.Comment: 45 pages, 5 figures, 12 tables; accepted for publication in GC

Teeth of the red fox Vulpes vulpes (L., 1758) as a bioindicator in studies on fluoride pollution

An examination was made of fluoride content in the mandibular first molars of the permanent teeth of the red fox Vulpes vulpes living in north-west (NW) Poland. The teeth were first dried to a constant weight at 105°C and then ashed. Fluorides were determined potentiometrically, and their concentrations were expressed in dry weight (DW) and ash. The results were used to perform an indirect estimation of fluoride pollution in the examined region of Poland. The collected specimens (n = 35) were classified into one of the three age categories: immature (im, 6–12 months), subadult (subad, from 12 to 20 months) and adult (ad, >20 months). The mean concentrations (geometric mean) of fluoride were similar in the im and subad groups (230 and 296 mg/kg DW and 297 and 385 mg/kg ash, respectively), and significantly smaller than in the ad group (504 and 654 mg/kg, respectively, in DW and ash). Basing on other reports that the ∼400 mg/kg DW concentration of fluoride in bones in the long-lived wild mammals generally reflects the geochemical background, it was found that 57% of the foxes in NW Poland exceeded this value by 9% to 170%. This indirectly reflects a moderate fluoride contamination in the tested region