Recently, a study published in the magazine “Nature” showed that scientists detected an “astonishing amount” of the rare helium isotope: helium-3 in the volcanic rocks on Baffin Island, Canada. This discovery means that “noble gases are flowing from the earth.” Nuclear ‘leak'” provides strong evidence. The research team noted that finding such high levels of helium-3 on land is a major discovery.
In addition to helium-3, researchers also detected helium-4 in the rocks. Relatively speaking, helium-4 is relatively common on the earth, while helium-3 is more likely to be found elsewhere in the universe (except the earth). In addition, the helium-3 content discovered on Baffin Island this time is relatively high. HIGH, Earth’s mysterious core has once again baffled scientists with its “weird” behavior.
The Earth may be leaking air. (pixabay)
Baffin Island, located in Nunavut, is the largest island in Canada and the fifth largest island in the world. CNN reported that this time, researchers detected high proportions of helium-3 and helium-4 in Baffin Island volcanic rocks for the first time.
The composition of a planet reflects the elements that make it up. In 2022, a study published in the “Journal of the American Geophysical Union” pointed out that helium-3 “leaks” from the Earth’s core supports a popular theory that our planet originated from the solar nebula, which contains Helium-3 element.
The team of Forrest Horton, the lead author of the new study and a geochemist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in the United States, decided to go one step further on this basis. Their 2018 study on Baffin Island examined lava that erupted millions of years ago when Greenland and North America split apart, and that the rocks may contain information about material “locked” in the Earth’s core and mantle.
Horton said that every rock here is a precious “scientific treasure” to be discovered. Many lavas are filled with bright green olivine.
Only one helium-3 atom exists for every one million helium-4 atoms. According to the research team’s measurements, there are approximately 10 million helium-3 atoms per gram of olivine crystals. The measured values of helium-3 and helium-4 were much higher than reported in previous studies, about 50 times higher than the proportions found in Earth’s atmosphere. This suggests that they may be gas “inherited” from the solar nebula during the formation of the solar system and are better preserved on Earth than previously thought, which is particularly important for understanding the formation of the Earth and its deep interior.
Our planet originated from the solar nebula, which contains the element helium-3 (pixabay)
Helium-3 is an isotope of helium that has only one neutron. It is a promising fuel used in nuclear fusion reactions. Helium-3 is also an original component of the earth. Studying helium-3 helps to understand key processes in the earth’s core, such as the generation of the earth’s magnetic field. It plays an important role in Played an important role in the emergence of life on Earth.
But how did helium-3 get into rocks in the first place? The answer may be traced to the Big Bang, which released huge amounts of hydrogen and helium when it shaped the universe. Over time, these elements became “embedded” into the formation of galaxies.
Scientists believe that about 4.6 billion years ago, a huge nebula of gas and dust collapsed to form our solar system. One of the gases in this nebula is helium, the second most abundant element in the universe after hydrogen. As the Earth formed, helium-3 and helium-4 flowing in the solar wind became “trapped” in the cooling planet’s minerals. As heavier elements and minerals sink to the bottom, this trapped helium is transported to the Earth’s core, where it is “locked” in its original form.
The Earth is not large enough to hold a certain amount of helium. Any material that wasn’t “captured” by the forming Earth, either later melted as minerals in the mantle or released by massive impacts, eventually seeped into the surface or floated into space. As a result, helium is relatively scarce on Earth, and helium-3 even more so.
However, researchers have found large amounts of helium-4 and helium-3 in the volcanic rocks of Baffin Island. Researchers say this suggests the lava originated from a mantle plume that rose from deep within the Earth and filled gaps created during the breakup of the Earth’s crust. Mantle plumes are regions of extremely hot magma that rise through the mantle and crust and can bring helium from the Earth’s core to the surface, where it eventually “leaks” on Baffin Island.
Horton said that during volcanic eruptions, most of the gases in the magma escape into the atmosphere. Therefore, only the olivine crystals that grew before the eruption “captured” and preserved the helium deep within the Earth.
The new study supports the idea that helium-3 is “leaking” from the Earth’s core, but researchers are not sure when this process begins.
Horton said the lava at Baffin Island is about 60 million years old, and the rise of the mantle plumes could take tens of millions of years. Therefore, the helium they measured in these rocks may have “escaped” from the core 100 million years ago or earlier.
However, Horton said that helium “leaking” from the Earth’s core would not have any negative impact on the Earth. Since this inert gas does not react chemically with substances, it has no effects on humans or the environment.
Earth Core (pixabay)
Is the Earth’s core the primary reservoir of elements like carbon and hydrogen? Are these elements important for a planet’s habitability? If so, did the evolution of these elements from the core influence Earth’s evolution over Earth’s history? These questions still need to be answered by scientists.
Perhaps one day, helium-3 will become a potential resource valuable enough to inspire more prospectors to mine it on the moon and other planets. At the same time, scientists like Horton are eager to understand the origin and impact of extremely scarce helium-3 on Earth, which could provide a new perspective on the mysterious core 2,900 kilometers below our feet.
