Pulsed Geonuclear Energy: A Proposed Mechanism of How Periodic D″ Explosions Recharge Earth's Deep Interior and how this Energy is dissipated
Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: The classical paradigm of terrestrial thermal evolution, which posits Earth as a monotonically cooling heat engine sustained solely by secular cooling and diffuse radiogenic decay, faces severe thermodynamic contradictions when confronted with modern deep-Earth constraints, such as the high thermal conductivity of core-forming iron alloys and an unresolved global thermal deficit of ~ 25 TW. To resolve these paradoxes without discarding established core crystallization physics, we present the Nuclear Explosion Sudden Internal Release (NESIR) framework. In this model, gravitational settling and high-pressure phase separation drive the accumulation of actinide oxides (UO2, ThO2) at the core-mantle boundary (D" layer), utilizing the liquid Fe-Ni outer core as an efficient neutron reflector (tamper). Operating predominantly in a low-intensity subcritical background regime, harmonizing seamlessly with modern geoneutrino observations by KamLAND and Borexino, the deep geonuclear system periodically reaches critical geometry. The resulting episodic, non-linear paroxysmal energy releases (~10^26 per major pulse) are buffered by core crystallization and secular cooling while driving transient superplume advection, Large Igneous Provinces (LIPs), and deep cap-rock seal breaches calibrated by metric soft-sediment deformation structures (SSDS/seismites, Mw ~ 8.8 - 10.2). This dual mechanism unifies the steady-state geodynamo and catastrophic geological events into a self-consistent planetary energy budget, shifting our understanding from a passive cooling model to a dynamically recharged geonuclear system.
Author: Meth Morgenbesser, SERGIO
Institution: Universidade Federal do Pampa
Language: English
Subfield: Geophysics
Field: Earth and Planetary Sciences
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7225449828