Papers by William McDonough
arXiv (Cornell University), Aug 9, 2018
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Progress in Particle and Nuclear Physics, 2013
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ABSTRACT Recent results from the KamLAND geoneutrino counting experiment demonstrated that heat d... more ABSTRACT Recent results from the KamLAND geoneutrino counting experiment demonstrated that heat derived from the decay of Th and U contributes only about 40% (20±9 TW) of the Earth's total present-day power (46±3 TW) (we consider here only Th and U, since they produce the only detectable geoneutrinos). A geochemical model (e.g., mantle samples) that uses a different approach from both cosmochemical (e.g., enstatite chondrite) and geophysical (e.g., parameterized convection) approaches, and has a bulk silicate Earth (BSE) with 8.2 x 10^16 kg of U, Th/U of 3.9 and K/U of 1.4 x 10^4, with none of these heat producing elements in the metallic core, due to their pronounced chemical affinities for silicates and oxides. Geochemical, cosmochemical and geophysical models predict that the BSE has 21, 11, and 30 TW of total radiogenic heat, respectively, with the contribution from Th and U being 17, 9, 26, and TW, respectively. Consequently, the recently measured geoneutrino flux from the KamLAND is now establishing limits on acceptable compositional models for the Earth. Thus, we are at an exciting stage of discovery, where geoneutrino data will soon be able to distinguish between different models of the amount of planetary nuclear power inside the Earth, the power driving plate tectonics, the geodynamo and compositional models for accretion. We are developing a refined 3-D model of the Earth with physical and chemical inputs that are internally consistent with existing constraints (incorporating global seismological, geochemical and heat flow data); the model predicts a surface flux of geoneutrinos, along with uncertainties, which can be compared with data from the KamLAND and Borexino experiments. This 3-D model has increasing descriptive resolution towards the surface, with geological constraints being applied for the top 220 km of the Earth. This model will provide insights into the Earth's energetics and global radiogenic heat production. Starting in 2013, the Canadian, SNO+ experiment will begin to collect geoneutrino data and provide further constraints on the Earth's radiogenic heat budget, with about twice the annual data output as the existing experiments combined. Using our updated inputs and improved architectural model for the Earth, we can predict the total expected geoneutrino signal over the Earth's surface and its uncertainties for detectors at several locations.
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Microscopy and Microanalysis, 2014
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Geostandards and Geoanalytical Research, 2012
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Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, 2006
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Lunar and Planetary …, Mar 1, 1987
610 LPSC XVIII Rb AND Cs IN THE EARTH AND MOON; WF McDonough, S. -s. Sun*, AE Ringwood and E. Jag... more 610 LPSC XVIII Rb AND Cs IN THE EARTH AND MOON; WF McDonough, S. -s. Sun*, AE Ringwood and E. Jagoutz, Research School of Earth Sciences, Australian National University, and *B~eau ofMineral Resources, Canberra, 2601, Australia Renewed interest has arisen in estimates of Rb and Cs concentrations of the bulk Earth and its Rb/Cs ratio (1,2). Additionally, there has been some controversy surrounding the perceived differences of Rb/Cs ratios between the Earth and the Moon (3-5), with the suggestion that these putative differences place constraints on ...
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International Geophysics, Dec 31, 2001
Chapter 1 The Composition of the Earth William F. McDonough The composition of the Earth, integra... more Chapter 1 The Composition of the Earth William F. McDonough The composition of the Earth, integrated from core to atmosphere, is comparable to that of undifferentiated meteorites (chondrites). But this simple statement offers little insight into the kind of chondrite the Earth most resembles or if even there is a good analog to the Earth in our present spectrum of chondritic meteorites. It also tells us little of how the Earth got to its present configuration (Fig. 1.1)(ie, a three-layered, metal-rock-water system). The geophysical, ...
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Papers by William McDonough