They discovered that helium atoms did not sit uniformly in the mineral, as previously thought, but were scattered in patterns unique to the rock\u2019s thermal history.<\/p>\n
Director of the John de Laeter Centre Professor Brent McInnes says the research has important practical applications.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe found that the patterns of helium distribution in a mineral are systematically produced in response to thermal processes, and that we can use those patterns to determine the thermal evolution of the rock it belonged to,\u201d explains McInnes.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you understand a rock\u2019s thermal history, you know when it formed and whether it has been influenced by thermal processes linked to the formation of mineral and petroleum deposits.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can also use thermal history analysis to determine how long it took for ancient mountain belts to form and erode away \u2013 because the faster you push mountains up into the climate, the faster they erode.\u201d<\/p>\n
Earthquake prediction and diamond exploration<\/h3>\n
McInnes believes his team may have stumbled across a new method to predict earthquakes, after discovering high concentrations of helium trapped within pockets of gas in the samples, which would escape once the samples were crushed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you break a rock, a flush of helium is released from these gas pockets. During an earthquake, a detectable flux of helium would flow out of the fault to the surface,\u201d he explains.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf helium was released during rock strain prior to an earthquake event, you could deploy helium detectors along the fault line as an earthquake early warning system.\u201d<\/p>\n
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(Photo: Shutterstock.com)<\/p>\n
The ability to detect levels of helium could also improve the likelihood of finding diamonds<\/a>, after McInnes and his team discovered low concentrations of helium in diamond-bearing vertical igneous rocks known as kimberlite pipes.<\/p>\n \u201cBy analysing the helium content of minerals we\u2019ve demonstrated that it\u2019s easy to differentiate zircon from a kimberlite pipe or from its host country rock,\u201d says McInnes.<\/p>\n \u201cThese results are being used by industry in exploration, including at Ellendale Diamond Mine \u2013 the world\u2019s leading source of yellow diamonds \u2013 in northern Western Australia.\u201d<\/p>\n Zircon\/helium radiometric dating is traditionally used to date geological materials, but the RESOchron<\/a> is the first scientific instrument to measure a zircon mineral sample\u2019s uranium-helium age and uranium-lead age simultaneously. It comprises three integrated instruments: a RESOlution laser ablation system and two mass spectrometers.<\/p>\n Through a partnership between the John de Laeter Centre and Australian Scientific Instruments Pty Ltd (ASI), the RESOchron has been sold to research institutes and centres in China, Germany and Indonesia.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not just about the scientists and the toys \u2013 it\u2019s about partnerships. Without the funding support of ASI, none of this basic research would\u2019ve happened,\u201d says McInnes.<\/p>\n If your organisation would like to know more about the RESOchron, visit the ASI website<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Read the research paper: Seeing is believing: Visualization of He distribution in zircon and implications for thermal history reconstruction on single crystals<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Zircon\/helium radiometric dating explained:<\/p>\nAbout the RESOchron<\/h3>\n