Experimental evidence that potassium is a substantial radioactive heat source in planetary cores

V. Rama Murthy (), Wim van Westrenen and Yingwei Fei
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V. Rama Murthy: University of Minnesota
Wim van Westrenen: Carnegie Institution of Washington
Yingwei Fei: Carnegie Institution of Washington

Nature, 2003, vol. 423, issue 6936, 163-165

Abstract: Abstract The hypothesis that 40K may be a significant radioactive heat source in the Earth's core was proposed on theoretical grounds1,2 over three decades ago, but experiments3,4,5,6,7,8 have provided only ambiguous and contradictory evidence for the solubility of potassium in iron-rich alloys. The existence of such radioactive heat in the core would have important implications for our understanding of the thermal evolution of the Earth and global processes such as the generation of the geomagnetic field, the core–mantle boundary heat flux and the time of formation of the inner core9,10,11,12. Here we provide experimental evidence to show that the ambiguous results obtained from earlier experiments are probably due to previously unrecognized experimental and analytical difficulties. The high-pressure, high-temperature data presented here show conclusively that potassium enters iron sulphide melts in a strongly temperature-dependent fashion and that 40K can serve as a substantial heat source in the cores of the Earth and Mars.

Date: 2003
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DOI: 10.1038/nature01560

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