Atmospheric helium increasing at a measurable rate

Atmosphere

Source: © Roman Becker/EyeEm/Getty Images

Air samples revealed a rate of increase beyond expected natural variations

High precision analysis of 46 years of air samples has confirmed that atmospheric helium levels are increasing. This work provides a new metric by which to measure global natural gas use, whilst also raising interesting questions about a potentially undiscovered source of the rare and valuable 3He isotope.