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Earth science

Helium not in store

Nature volume 436, pages 1095–1096 (2005)Cite this article

The ratio of helium isotopes in some oceanic volcanoes seemed to demand a reservoir of virgin primordial gas in the Earth's mantle. In fact, that might not be necessary — a relief for other geophysical models.

In the 4.5 billion years of its existence, Earth has been continually losing helium through the degassing of rocks from its interior as they melt during volcanic processes. That there is any helium left on Earth at all is largely owing to its replenishment in the interior through radioactive α-decay, principally of the heavy elements thorium and uranium — the α-particle emitted in α-decay is a helium nucleus. But α-decay creates only the heavier helium isotope, 4He. Any trace of the lighter isotope, 3He, on present-day Earth is primordial, dating from the planet's formation.

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Figure 1

D. PEEBLES/CORBIS

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  1. Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Cornell University, Ithaca, 14853, New York, USA

    William M. White

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  1. William M. White
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White, W. Helium not in store. Nature 436, 1095–1096 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1038/4361095a

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