Physics
Scientific paper
Feb 2001
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2001oleb...31....3g&link_type=abstract
Origins of Life and Evolution of the Biosphere, v. 31, Issue 1/2, p. 3-13 (2001).
Physics
2
Continental Crust, Ionization, Radioactivity, Radon, Voids
Scientific paper
Radioactivity in the continental crust (due mainly to the isotopes ^238U, ^235U, ^232Th and ^40K), as a energy source for chemical evolution in the early Archean (between 3.5 and ~4 Ga bp), is reviewed. The most important radioactive source in the continental crust is due to the production and accumulation of radioactive gases within the crust voids (porosity). The study of such mechanism has allowed us to reach a deeper understanding about the nature of the radioactive source and to describe its behavior, particularly with regard to prebiotic chemical evolution. An effective total energy of 3 × 10^18 ^Ja has been obtained for a depth of 1 km, 4 Ga ago. If a depth of 30 km is taken, the obtained value is almost equal to the UV solar energy radiation (λ<150 nm). Within the voids the radioactive source of the continental crust played a relevant role in prebiotic synthesis. In uranium deposits of the same age, the role of radiactivity must have been even more relevant in favoring chemical evolution.
Garzón León
Garzón Luisa M.
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