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Geochemistry

Earth holds its breath

Some inert-gas isotopes in Earth's atmosphere can only have come from deep inside the planet. We thought we knew how much gas Earth gives up, and how it does it — but a challenge has emerged to the prevailing model.

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Figure 1: Two inside views.

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Ballentine, C. Earth holds its breath. Nature 449, 294–296 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/449294a

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