A joint team of American geochemists from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and the California Institute of Technology has discovered evidence of material leaking from the Earth’s core to the surface. To work published In the scientific journal Nature.
Scientists have recorded high levels of helium-3 in rocks on Baffin Island, an Arctic island located in Nunavut, Canada.
Helium-3 is an ancient isotope that was prevalent during the formation of the Earth and later found itself locked in its core. The element evaporates quickly when it reaches the surface, so isotope signatures usually indicate that it came from the center of the planet.
They also found the ratio of helium-3 to helium-4 (a common isotope); this is the highest ratio ever measured in Earth rocks. According to the researchers, such high rates are another factor indicating that helium-3 is leaking from the nucleus.
If it is proven that material has indeed leaked from the core, this will provide scientists with the first opportunity to study the Earth’s core.
Earlier geophysicists I learnedIt turns out that our planet’s core is softer than previously thought.