The discovery of helium isotopes in volcanic gases in the datun mountain region by Taiwanese researchers is a significant and important piece of evidence. It is common knowledge that helium is a rare and non-renewable resource. But newread's special gas editor wants to know what helium isotopes are? Here we tell you the common helium isotopes are helium-3 and helium-4. An isotope atom is an atom with the same number of protons. Normally, the nucleus of a helium atom in helium gas is made up of two protons and seeds, while the nucleus of helium-3 is made up of two protons and one neutron.

At present, some scholars have pointed out that there are not only volcanoes but also foot faults and jinshan faults in the datun mountain area. Past studies have shown that differences in volcanic and fault activity not only show up in seismic wave patterns, but also in the amount of soil gas that escapes. Helium is an important indicator of the difference. According to the observation, there is more helium 3 in the deep geological activities and more helium 4 in the shallow activities. So when a fault causes an earthquake, you measure more helium 3.

   Helium 3 structure

Scholars pointed out that the helium isotope 3He (referred to as helium 3) / 4He (referred to as helium 4) has a low content in the air and a very low solubility, so it is not easy to have chemical reactions with other substances. More importantly, the ratio of helium isotope in the atmosphere and mantle substances is very different, which can be used to identify where the measured gases come from.

  According to Yang canyao, professor of geology at national Taiwan university, and his research team, in collaboration with yangmingshan national park, the strength of magma activity is significantly related to the helium content and isotope ratio in volcanic jets. The closer to the crater, the higher the ratio of helium content to 3He / 4He, and the more magma activity, the higher the ratio of helium content to 3He / 4He.

   Their investigation shows that the datun mountain jet obviously has the helium composition of the deep mantle source, among which the oil pit jet contains the highest helium isotope composition, and the geothermal valley jet has the lowest. It is estimated that at least 75% of the air injection from the datun mountain volcano group comes from the underground magma, and 98% of the air injection from the big oil pit may come from the magma. It shows that there is probably a magma chamber under the datun mountain group.

   Helium, a highly volatile inert gas, is the most abundant element in the universe except hydrogen. On earth, however, hydrogen stocks are minimal, with atmospheric concentrations only 5.24x10-6. It is also rare and inert, making it a good tracer.

   Helium has two stable isotopes in nature, 3He and 4He, and man-made radioactive isotopes with very long half-lives, 5He, 6He and 8He. 4He in rocks and minerals is produced by uranium and thorium decay.

   As one of the important strategic resources for human beings in the 21st century, helium has always been in great demand. However, the storage capacity of helium has not been ideal, so the price of helium has always been relatively high. Many research institutes, manufacturers and individual users who need helium cannot get the ideal helium for various reasons.