Better Understanding of Helium and Heat Transport in the Earth

Better Understanding of Helium and Heat Transport in the Earth

TNRTB Archive – Retained for reference information

Support for RTB’s creation model grows as scientists gain understanding of the heat and helium transport through the Earth. One outstanding issue in understanding Earth’s interior relates to whether mixing in the mantle operates over the whole mantle or in segregated layers. Although scientists favor the simple, whole-mantle convection model, they have not been able to reconcile the model with measurements of the helium and heat flux at Earth’s surface. However, a team of geophysicists shows how aquifer layers in the crust greatly reduce the flux of helium relative to heat, reconciling whole-mantle convection models with field measurements. As scientists’ model of Earth’s interior processes increases in explanatory power and detail, the evidence for RTB’s creation model also increases.