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II.—Radio-activity and the Earth’s Thermal History

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 May 2009

Arthur Holmes
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So far, the source of the heat lost from the earth has been assigned only to the disintegration of the radio-active elements. Besides this, heat is liberated near the surface by the processes of weathering. The decomposition of one gram of average rock is accompanied by the generation of about 120 calories. Owing to its extreme slowness, this source of heat generation is of practically no importance except locally, where for a time it may succeed in appreciably steepening the temperature gradient. The heat liberated by weathering is probably balanced by the absorption of heat at greater depths, which is involved in the processes of metamorphism. Of much greater importance is the question whether the earth can still be regarded as possessing an ancient heritage of heat dependent on its origin.

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Original Articles
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Geological Magazine , Volume 2 , Issue 3 , March 1915 , pp. 102 - 112
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1915

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References

page 102 note 1 d’Orbigny, A., “Paléont. Franç. Terr. Jurass. Ceph.,” pl. xci, figs. 3, 4, non 1–2, nec pl. xciiGoogle Scholar (see Buckman, S. S., “Some Lias Amm.”: Proc. Cotteswold Club, vol. xv, pt. iii, p. 239, 1906)Google Scholar.

page 102 note 2 Wright, T., op. cit., 1880, pl. xxGoogle Scholar.

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page 102 note 5 Part I, The Concentration of the Radio-active Elements in the Earth’s Crust,” appeared in the February Number, pp. 60–71.

page 103 note 1 Chamberlin, & Salisbury, , Text Book of Geology, vol. ii, p. 100, 1906Google Scholar.

page 103 note 2 Carnegie Inst., Washington, Pub. No. 107, 1909, p. 169Google Scholar.

page 103 note 3 Lunn, loc. cit., p. 230.

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page 104 note 1 Holmes, & Lawson, , Phil. Mag., vol. xxviii, p. 823, 1914CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

page 104 note 2 For a full discussion of this method of estimating the age of minerals, see Proc. Roy. Soc., A, vol. lxxxv, p. 248, 1911Google Scholar, and The Age of the Earth, ch. x, 1913.

page 105 note 1 Igneous Rocks and their Origin, p. 115, 1914Google Scholar.

page 106 note 1 Igneous Rocks and their Origin, p. 157, 1914Google Scholar.

page 106 note 2 Radio-activity and Geology, p. 102, 1909Google Scholar.

page 107 note 1 Journ. Geol., p. 686, 1911Google Scholar.

page 108 note 1 See Part I, Geol. Mag., Dec. VI, vol. II, p. 70, 1915Google Scholar.

page 109 note 1 See equation 61, Ingersoll & Zobel, loc. cit., p. 89.