Light noble gas dissolution into ring structure-bearing materials and lattice influences on noble gas recycling

Abstract

Light noble gas (He–Ne–Ar) solubility has been experimentally determined in a range of materials with six-member, tetrahedral ring structures: beryl, cordierite, tourmaline, antigorite, muscovite, F-phlogopite, actinolite, and pargasite. Helium solubility in these materials is relatively high, 4×10−10 to 3×10−7molg−1bar−1, which is ∼100 to 100,000× greater than He solubility in olivine, pyroxene, or spinel. Helium solubility broadly correlates with the topology of ring structures within different minerals. Distinctive He–Ne–Ar solubility patterns are associated with the different ring structure topologies. Combined, these observations suggest ring structures have a strong influence on noble gas solubility in materials and could facilitate the recycling of noble gases, along with other volatiles (i.e., water, chlorine, and fluorine), into the mantle. Measurements of Ne and Ar solubility in antigorite, however, are highly variable and correlated with each other, suggesting multiple factors contribute the solubility of noble gases in serpentine-rich materials.