NUCLEAR AND RADIOACTIVE ROOTS OF GEOTHERMAL ENERGY (AND JUST ABOUT EVERYTHING ELSE)

During his early years of teaching chemistry at the University of Arkansas, Paul Kuroda’s research focused on a combination of nuclear reactor theory and geochronology. In 1956 he published the bare bones geological and hydrological conditions under which natural nuclear reactors might (theoretically) have started and run. When the first Precambrian reactors were discovered 16 years later in West Africa, a few geoscientists studied them for a while.

But general science education and research have pretty much forgotten or avoided information on natural nuclear processes and the quite significant spatial and temporal variability of natural radioactivity. This neglect has particularly harmful effects in applications such as setting and enforcing standards for radiation protection and the geologic isolation of radioactive waste. It also prevents a proper understanding of the ultimate source of geothermal energy (as well as other manifestations).

Current scientific understanding suggests that about 40 to 80% of Earth’s interior heat is generated by radioactive decay of elements that themselves are the products of nuclear reactions (stellar fusion and supernovae). A principal source of geothermal energy- as of practically any other energy or matter - is therefore nuclear energy. Radioactive and nuclear processes are at the roots of - and constitute the unifying bond between - all natural sciences. Being a holistic discipline connecting many others, geology can serve as the leading edge of an integrative understanding of ourselves and our environment. But such scientific renaissance can succeed only if geologists understand - and incorporate in their teaching - the nuclear and radioactive roots of everything.