All the planets like Earth and Jupiter became isolated from interstellar gas
about 4.5 billion years ago, when the sun was born. Although the sun
continued to burn deuterium since then, no such depletion should have
occurred on Jupiter. In addition, Jupiter's enormous gravity prevents light
gasses like hydrogen and deuterium from escaping. For these reasons, that
planet's current abundance ratio should represent the relative amounts at
the birth of the solar system, and it should be similar to what was here on
Earth back then.
In 1996 NASA and a European group reported that Jupiter has about 6
deuterium atoms for every 10,000 hydrogen atoms. This number agrees with the
value measured by a specialized device, carried on the Galileo spacecraft,
that plunged into Jupiter. This is strong evidence for the initial ratio
being 600 ppm at the outset of solar system history.
The natural abundance of D in the oceans of Earth of approximately one atom
in 6,500 of hydrogen (~154 ppm) or four times lower than Jupiter. What
happened to the rest of it, if it was initially the same as Jupiter?
What we have that is basically different from Jupiter is a 20% surface zone
that is largely rock and biomass, bathed in solar radiation - plus much
lower gravity. If deuterium where to form into dense accumulations
preferentially over hydrogen, such that some of it fuses into helium by QM
probability, which is enhanced in confined containment (and thus deuterium
is removed from water on average) then this dynamic would alter the ratio
lower over eons. Given that our atmosphere is not held by gravity as tightly
as Jupiter, that should mean that more H than D escapes, so that is a
counter mechanism that indicates the fusion rate is even higher.
All in all, this could indicate that quantum fusion of deuterium happens on
a slow but massive planetary scale on Earth - and at a rate which is
actually predictable, based on the comparative abundance here and on
Jupiter, divided by the time lapse and other variables which will probably
enter into the picture.
Whether that adds any credence to LENR is debatable, even if accurate.
There is also another possibility which is the ultra-dense deuterium of
Holmlid - which presumably would form in the mantle from sedimentary matter
and eventually migrate to the earth's core- and probably fuse along the way
into helium . thus to provide some of the internal heat seen, which is often
attributed to uranium. This also explains why some wells drilled for natural
gas turn out to be high in helium content. Concentrations of helium in
natural gas in New Mexico and Texas are as high as 7%. It is very doubtful
that this could be primordial helium. Some could come from radioactive
decay, but given the huge quantities, some could be from pycno-fusion.
Jones
