A research team led by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency has released a new map that uses sets of geophysical data to illustrate the Earth’s radioactivity.
NGA said Tuesday the Antineutrino Global Map 2015 also uses international observational data on antineutrinos.
An antineutrino is a subatomic particle generated by nuclear reactors, the Earth’s atmosphere, supernovae, sun and other types of stars.
“Geo-neutrino measurements are essential in characterizing the Earth’s radiogenic power across geologic time and in improving our understanding of planetary formation processes in the early solar nebula,†said Shawn Usman, the study’s lead author and research and development scientist at NGA.
NGA geophysicists developed AGM2015 with neutrino physicists and other scientists from Ultralytics, University of Hawaii, University of Maryland and Hawaii Pacific University.
The researchers plan to regularly update the map with new data on mantle and crust models and oscillation measurements and expect the map to advance research into nuclear nonproliferation efforts.
