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Encyclopedia of Geochemistry pp 1–6Cite as

Heat-Producing Elements (HPEs)

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Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series ((EESS))

Definition

The heat-producing elements are thorium , uranium, and potassium , which are those elements having radioactive isotopes with abundances and activities that are sufficient to produce geologically significant amounts of radiogenic heat.

Radiogenic Heat Production

In the early solar system, the decay of 26Al, with a half-life of 0.74 Ma, supplied the heat to metamorphose the small planetesimals that accreted from the solar nebula and partially melt larger planetesimals and planetary embryos formed during the initial stages of assembling rocky planets. Another long-extinct radionuclide, 60Fe, with a half-life of 1.5 Ma, was once suggested as an additional heat source, but recent measurements on primitive meteorites indicate that its concentration in the early solar system was too low to matter (e.g., Tang and Dauphas, 2012). Today, only four radionuclides (40K, 232Th, 235U, and 238U) have high enough abundances in the solar system combined with sufficient rates of decay to...

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Research School of Earth Sciences, Australian National University, ACT 2601, Acton, Australia

    Hugh StC O’Neill

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  1. Hugh StC O’Neill
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Correspondence to Hugh StC O’Neill .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Earth, Cornell University Department of Earth, Ithaca, New York, USA

    William M. White

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O’Neill, H.S. (2016). Heat-Producing Elements (HPEs). In: White, W. (eds) Encyclopedia of Geochemistry. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-39193-9_265-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-39193-9_265-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-39193-9

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Earth and Environm. ScienceReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Earth and Environmental Sciences

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