ANTINEUTRINO GEOPHYSICS WITH LIQUID SCINTILLATOR DETECTORS

Detecting the antineutrinos emitted by the decay of radioactive elemen ts in the mantle and crust could provide a direct measurement of the t otal abundance of uranium and thorium in the Earth, In calculating the antineutrino flux at specific sites, the local geology of the crust a nd the background from the world's nuclear power reactors are importan t considerations. Employing a global crustal map, with type and thickn ess data, and using recent estimates of the uranium and thorium distri bution in the Earth. we calculate the antineutrino event rate for two new neutrino detectors. We show that spectral features allow terrestri al antineutrino events to be identified above reactor antineutrino bac kgrounds and that the uranium and thorium contributions can be separat ely determined.