Geoneutrino research suggests uneven heating within Earth's mantle

Research involving the detection of geoneutrinos—often referred to as “ghost particles”—suggests that Earth may be heating unevenly from the inside. Data captured at an underground laboratory in Canada indicates that radioactive matter, which provides the heat necessary to drive geological processes, may not be distributed uniformly throughout the mantle.

For decades, the prevailing geological assumption was that the mantle's slowly churning rock would mix radioactive elements evenly. However, these new findings suggest that certain deep Earth structures may concentrate these elements in specific locations. If confirmed, this could challenge fundamental understandings of how the mantle functions and how heat powers phenomena such as earthquakes, volcanoes, and the planet's magnetic field.