The degassing flux from the solid earth: Release by fracturing

Abstract

A simple 1‐D model is developed for the release of He (and Ar) from a solid lithology to the intervening porefluid as a result of fracturing. The results indicate that fracturing can release the solid phase accumulated He on a geologically short time‐scale (<1500yrs) for large crustal sections and can lead to the (observed) decoupling of He and Ar degassing fluxes from a homogeneous crust. Measurement of regional variations in the crustal degassing fluxes may therefore provide a useful constraint on time‐dependent hydraulic control of large‐scale fluid transport in the Earth's crust.