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  • RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT

Helium levels in the atmosphere are ballooning

Sensitive techniques show rising levels of two forms of helium, one expected and one a mystery.
Steam comes out of a cooling tower of a gas-fired power plant in Lingen, Germany.

Natural-gas-fired power plants are contributing to the growing amount of helium in the atmosphere. Credit: Ina Fassbender/AFP via Getty

Levels of helium in Earth’s atmosphere are rising, thanks to the burning of fossil fuels1.

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Nature 605, 399 (2022)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-022-01278-x

References

  1. Birner, B., Severinghaus, J., Paplawsky, B. & Keeling, R. F. Nature Geosci. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-022-00932-3 (2022).

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