Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Geology

University of North Dakota

2014

Radioisotopes in geology--South Dakota--Homestake Mine; Beta decay--South Dakota--Homestake Mine; Antineutrinos

Articles 1 - 1 of 1

Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Geoneutrino Production Of The Northern Black Hills, South Dakota, United States Of America, Eric Eric Zimney Jan 2014

Geoneutrino Production Of The Northern Black Hills, South Dakota, United States Of America, Eric Eric Zimney

Theses and Dissertations

Current neutrino observatories operate underground to isolate the detector from cosmic rays and background radiation. However, background radiation from local sources has yet to be accounted for. Current models for neutrino contributions from terrestrial rocks are formulated from bulk compositional estimates of the whole Earth. To better understand local background radiation from geologic sources surfaces rocks were collected throughout the area surrounding the Homestake Mine, South Dakota, home of the Sanford Underground Research Laboratory. The surface rocks were analyzed for radioactivity and neutrino luminosity, producing heat maps indicating the levels of neutrino production throughout the area. The area around the …