A team of scientists led by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency has published in the journal Nature Scientific Reports the first world map to radioactivity on the earth’s surface .
The Global Antineutrino Map 2015 (AGM2015) uses an open access geophysical dataset and available international antineutrino detection observational data to represent the different levels of radioactivity on Earth.
“The open access availability of these antineutrino maps represents the next generation of cartography and gives important clues to the basic knowledge of the interior of our planet “, clarifies Shawn Usman, leader of the study.
And it is that the antineutrino is a subatomic particle produced by stars of all kinds, such as the Sun, but also by the Earth’s atmosphere, supernovae, nuclear reactors and radioactive materials. They were first detected in the mid-1950s in nuclear reactor emissions. However, these represent less than 1% of all terrestrial antineutrinos, the majority, more than 99%, come from within the Earth , as a natural flow of radioisotopes that produce geophysical antineutrinos or geo-neutrinos, which reveal information. over the interior of the planet.
“Geoneutrino measurements are essential to characterize the radiogenic power of the Earth through geological time and to improve our understanding of the planetary formation processes in the primary solar nebula,” concludes Usman.
