Monday, 23 October 2023 – 12:03 WIB
LIVE Techno – A joint team consisting of geochemists from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and the California Institute of Technology has found evidence of high levels of helium-3 in rocks on Baffin Island, Arctic Archipelago, Canada, possible evidence that the Earth’s core is leaking.
In their paper published in the journal Nature, the group describes their study of helium-3 and helium-4 in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago.
Researchers previously found the element helium-3 in lava flows on Baffin Island, hinting at a possible leak in the Earth’s core.
This is because helium-3 is an ancient isotope. This isotope was commonly found at a time when the earth was forming and was trapped in the earth’s core.
However, because of its nature, helium-3 that reaches the surface is immediately released into the atmosphere and disappears into space. So, helium-3 is rare. If it is found on the surface, it most likely made its way out of the core.
Intrigued by the possibility of the Earth’s core leaking, the research team traveled to Baffin Island and began testing several lava flows.
They found much higher levels of helium-3 than observed in previous research efforts, higher than anywhere else on Earth.
They also found a high ratio of helium-3 to helium-4 (a common isotope), the highest ever measured in terrestrial rocks. The high ratio, according to the researchers, is another factor indicating that helium-3 is leaking from the core.
The research team notes that finding high levels of helium-3 on Earth is a big deal, because if it can be proven that the material is indeed leaking from the core, this would give scientists a way to study core material that has never been done before.
This could reveal more about the atomic nucleus than previously thought. They noted that if helium-3 originates from the core, then other surrounding materials should as well, thus providing a further physical example of core material.
2023-10-23 05:03:01
#Earths #Core #Leaking
