Abstract
A 3He component attributed to cosmic-ray-induced spallation reactions (3Hec) in silicate minerals has recently been identified in lava flows on the summit of Haleakala volcano on Maui1–3. This3Hec is observed in the helium extracted by fusion of olivine and pyroxene phenocrysts after first removing almost all of the mantle-derived helium by vacuum-crushing, a procedure which releases the volatiles trapped in fluid inclusions within the phenocrysts. Cosmic-ray-produced 3He was found in the high-altitude (∼3,000 m) summit lavas, which are ∼500,000 years old, but was not observed in sub-surface samples which were overlain by younger basalts2 or in a 200-yr-old lava flow at sea level on Maui1,2. We report here the identification of cosmic-ray-produced 21Nec, in addition to 3Hec, in gases extracted by fusion of olivines and clinopyroxenes after vacuum-crushing. The observed (3He/21Ne)c ratios and the ratio of 21Nec in olivine to that in clinopyroxene are consistent with an in situ origin of 3Hec and 21Nec by cosmic-ray spallation reactions. This component could be important for interpreting helium isotopic data in terrestrial reservoirs. Geophysical applications could include determinations of erosion rates and exposure histories of terrestrial rocks.
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Marti, K., Craig, H. Cosmic-ray-produced neon and helium in the summit lavas of Maui. Nature 325, 335–337 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1038/325335a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/325335a0
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