Abstract
We just learned in Chap. 3 that terrestrial helium (rather, the nucleus of the helium atom, or alpha particle) is derived from the radioactive decay of uranium and thorium and can be found in minerals which house these heavy elements. Where did this uranium and thorium come from? Where can we find it in the Earth? The answer to these questions takes us back to the cosmos and a continuing discussion about stars and later to the formation of the Earth.
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Notes
- 1.
The core of the Earth is too hot to be magnetic. All magnetic materials lose magnetism with the presence of heat. Our Earths magnetism is created as a result of this liquid metal movement which creates a dynamo.
- 2.
The name “lithophile” was coined in the 1930s by Victor Goldschmidt (1888–1947). The term lithophile literally means “rock-loving”. Thus, the lithophile elements are generally found in the rocky crustal rock rather than the iron-rich mantle and core.
- 3.
Recall that when mass is lost, energy is released.
- 4.
Helium detection as a guide for uranium exploration, open-file report 76–240, G.M Reimer, 1976.
- 5.
The use of helium in mineral exploration, Willy Dyck, Geological Survey of Canada, Ottowa, Ont., Journal of Geochemical Exploration, 5 (1976), p. 4.
- 6.
Source Uranium and helium in the Panhandle Gas Field Texas, and adjacent areas, by A.P. Pierce, G.B. Gott, and J.W. Mytton, Geological Survey Professional Paper 454-G, United States Government Printing Office, Washington, 1964, pp. G51–G52.
- 7.
Elements of Petroleum Geology, R.C. Selley, 1998, p. 18.
- 8.
The origin of terrestrial helium and its association with other gases, S.C. Lind, Chemistry: S.C. Lind, April 27, 1925, p. 776.
- 9.
Molecular nitrogen in natural gas accumulations: generation from sedimentary organic matter at high temperatures, R. Littke, E. Idiz, J. Frielingsdorf, AAPG Bulletin, V. 79, No. 3, March 1995, p. 412.
- 10.
The helium atom has a diameter of 0.2 nm, or 10−9 m. CO2, N2, and CH4 have molecular diameters of 0.33 nm, 0.34 nm, and 0.38 nm, respectively. (Source Petroleum geochemistry and geology, 2nd Ed., J.M. Hunt, 1996.)
- 11.
Radioactivity in geology, principals and applications, Durrance (1986).
- 12.
These production rates and balloon comparison information were provided to the author by Dr. Mike Reimer.
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“Bo” Sears, W.M. (2015). Helium on Earth. In: Helium. SpringerBriefs in Earth Sciences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-15123-6_4
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