Scientists find signs of gas leakage from Earth's core into space: What does this mean?

Researchers have discovered new evidence of noble gases leaking from the Earth's core into space. According to a study by geochemists from Canada and the United States, samples of young lava flows on Baffin Island contain a high concentration of the isotope helium-3 (3He), almost 70 times higher than in air.

Billions of years ago, when the Earth was just being formed, inert gases such as helium, neon and others were locked in its core, along with many other substances. We do not yet have direct evidence of this, since we cannot get to the core of the planet and explore it - and it is unlikely that we will be able to in the foreseeable future. However, gases from the Earth's core gradually escape into the atmosphere and fly into space, which gives us interesting information.

In the past, scientists have found elevated concentrations of the isotope helium-3 (3He) in samples of ancient lava flows, but did not pay much attention to this. One day, scientists from Canada and the USA began to specifically look for the helium-3 isotope in samples from basalt lava from the Canadian Baffin Island. This lava is relatively young - about 62 million years old. In it, the isotopic ratio of helium-3 turned out to be almost 70 times higher than in air, which means that this isotope could not have entered the rock from the air, therefore, it came from another source, most likely underground.

According to scientists, most likely, helium leaks from the Earth’s core, penetrates the magma and is carried to the surface through its channels, after which it enters the atmosphere and “flies” into space.

Scientists emphasize that studying traces of noble gases from the unimaginable depths of our planet can help us better understand how and from what substances the Earth was formed billions of years ago.