Atmospheric helium levels are rising, research confirms

The issue of rising levels of helium in the atmosphere has lingered among atmospheric chemists for decades.

The atmospheric abundance of the 4-helium is rising because of the release of 4 He during the burning and extraction of fossil fuels. For the first time, the researchers report that it is increasing at a measurable rate. The greenhouse effect that is making the planet warmer is not caused by the 4 He isotope, but by indirect markers of fossil-fuel use.

The study is in the journal Nature Geoscience.

The main motivation was to resolve a longstanding controversy in the science community about atmospheric helium concentrations.

Natural gas and fossil fuels are both produced by radioactive decay in the Earth's crust. He is released when the fossil fuels are burned, which creates another way to evaluate the scale of industrial activity.

The technique the team used to measure how much helium is in the atmosphere was the breakthrough of the study. A method to compare the 4 He and the common atmospheric nitrogen gas was created by the scientists. Nitrogen levels in the atmosphere are constant, so an increase in He/N 2 is indicative of the rate of 4 He in the atmosphere.

The study is a masterpiece of fundamental geology, according to the co-author and the overseer of the famous carbon dioxide measurement known as the Keeling Curve.

The study gives a foundation for scientists to better understand 3-helium, which has uses for nuclear fusion and other applications. The lengths to which manufacturers will go to harvest moon gas is an indication of the proposals to acquire it.

The 4 He isotope is found in the atmosphere and appears to be an unvarying ratio with 3 He. The 3 He isotope must be rising at the same rate as 4 He because of the atmospheric rise of 4 He. The research by the team raises questions about the accuracy of previous assumptions about how 3 He is produced and how much.

We don't know for sure, but I wonder if there is more He coming out of the Earth than we thought, which could possibly be used to fuel our nuclear fusion reactor in the future.

The study lays in starker relief a controversy surrounding the rare helium isotope 3 He.

More information: Benjamin Birner, Increasing atmospheric helium due to fossil fuel exploitation, Nature Geoscience (2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41561-022-00932-3. www.nature.com/articles/s41561-022-00932-3 Journal information: Nature Geoscience Citation: Atmospheric helium levels are rising, research confirms (2022, May 9) retrieved 9 May 2022 from https://phys.org/news/2022-05-atmospheric-helium.html This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.