ATMOSPHERIC HELIUM ISOTOPIC RATIO

A recent study of the isotopic ratio of helium (He-3/He-4) in the terrestrial atmosphere led the individuals who made the investigation to suggest that this ratio is decreasing with time, probably due to anthropogenic release of low isotopic ratio crustal helium from oil and gas wells. The measurements made over an 11 year period from 1977 to 1988 led to the prediction that the rate of decrease was of the order of 1 x 10(-9)/yr. Several absolute isotopic ratio measurements made between 1969 and the present time also have been reported. These show a slight decrease in the helium isotopic ratio (much less than the 11 year data set shows). In the present paper, we report an unpublished, absolute helium isotopic ratio measurement the authors made in 1956. This value, when combined with the previously reported results, extends the time over which such measurements were made to a 32 year period and does not confirm that there is any decrease in the helium isotopic ratio in the atmosphere over this time.