PRIMORDIAL
Next-generation dynamic mass spectrometer for the ultra-high-precision study of primordial heavy noble gas components in the solid Earth.
Aperçu
David V. Bekaert (PI ; Université de Lorraine/CNRS)
Guillaume Avice (co-PI ; Université Paris Cité, Institut de physique du globe de Paris, CNRS)
IsotopX company (industrial partner)
Volatile elements (H, C, N, O) are essential to planetary habitability: they regulate the greenhouse effect, enable the stability of liquid water, and sustain the chemical processes necessary for life. How and when did Earth acquire these elements? Can their origins (planetary building blocks, comets, asteroids, nebular gas) be identified in the archives of Earth’s mantle? These questions, which span diverse and interconnected research fields, including astrophysics, biology, and geology, are still unresolved. The key to this enigma may lie in the Earth’s mantle, where some primordial volatiles have been preserved.
Due to their inert nature, noble gases are exceptional tracers of the origin and evolution of planetary volatile elements. However, nuclear and geological processes have altered many of their isotopic inventories, thereby masking primordial signatures. Moreover, primordial isotopes are far less abundant than their secondary counterparts, making the identification of the sources of Earth’s volatile elements extremely challenging.
To date, French and international noble gas laboratories specializing in mantle geochemistry have achieved analytical precisions ranging from percent (%) to per mil (‰) levels. This level of precision, reaching the limits of conventional “static” noble gas mass spectrometers, has proven insufficient to identify primordial components of heavy noble gases in the mantle. PRIMORDIAL will inaugurate the first “dynamic” mass spectrometer designed to explore the origins of Earth’s volatiles using primordial noble gas isotopes. In collaboration with Isotopx and international experts, we have designed a next-generation instrument (PRIM’SIRIX) capable of measuring, for the first time, the full suite of mantle-derived Ne, Ar, Kr, and Xe isotopes with sub–per mil precision (< 0.1%). It will be equipped with a unique array of collectors using recently patented technologies, providing the flexibility, precision, accuracy, and resolution required to quantify ultra-high-precision measurements of rare mantle-derived noble gas isotopes (36,38Ar; 78,80Kr; 124,126Xe).
Samples collected worldwide will be analyzed to decipher the origin of heavy noble gases (and, by extension, major volatile species) on Earth. PRIM’SIRIX will also open the way to new applications of noble gas geochemistry, including its use as an innovative monitoring tool for volcanic activity in key volcanic and hydrothermal regions of Guadeloupe, Martinique, La Réunion, and Mayotte, currently under continuous observation by the Volcanological and Seismological Observatories of IPGP. PRIM’SIRIX will also enable ultra-precise measurements of air and water samples, paving the way for future advances in atmospheric and climate sciences, hydrology, cosmochemistry, resource exploration, and industrial applications such as nuclear waste management.
Objectifs scientifiques
Nos recherches
Solve the origin of argon, krypton, and xenon in the Earth’s mantle in order to identify the source(s) of major volatile elements (e.g., carbon, nitrogen, and water) on Earth.
Primordial signatures of the heavy noble gases (argon, krypton, xenon) likely exist within the solid Earth, and it will finally be possible to access them through ultra-high-precision dynamic mass spectrometry (DMS) analysis of volcanic gases. The PRIM’SIRIX instrument, specifically designed for this purpose, will overcome the main analytical barriers (namely, achieving sufficient signal-to-noise ratios for the least abundant isotopes and eliminating isobaric interferences between the most abundant isotopes and those of interest) that have so far prevented the reliable identification of primordial signatures in the solid Earth.
For the first time, we will measure all mantle-derived heavy noble gas isotopes with a precision better than 0.1% (down to the 0.001% level), including the least abundant (so-called primordial) isotopes, which preserve the signature of the primordial volatile sources on Earth.
Development of ultra-high-precision analysis of neon isotopes in natural gas emissions.
Neon isotopes are a key tool in mantle noble gas geochemistry. Deviations from the atmospheric composition can reveal the origin of natural gases derived from the continental crust and/or from different mantle reservoirs. Although traditional static mass spectrometers can resolve large deviations from atmospheric composition, their precision is insufficient to detect subtler isotopic variations and to distinguish the potential effects of physical fractionation processes in volcanic and hydrothermal gas samples.
PRIMORDIAL will establish a protocol to measure mantle-derived neon isotopes on the PRIM’SIRIX, on the same gas aliquots analyzed for the heavier noble gases. This development will (i) enable precise discrimination between mantle sources and (ii) allow neon to be used as a tracer of physical fractionation, helping to correct heavy noble gas systematics and thereby access their primordial signatures.
Development of a new geochemical tool for monitoring volcanic and hydrothermal activity.
The PRIM’SIRIX instrument will become a key component of the strategy of the Volcanological and Seismological Observatory (OVS) of the Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris for monitoring the geochemical parameters of active volcanoes in Guadeloupe, Martinique, La Réunion, and Mayotte. Ultra-high-precision analysis of neon, argon, krypton, and xenon will provide far more comprehensive information than that currently obtained from conventional geochemical tracers (e.g., ³He/⁴He).
In particular, the analytical precision of PRIM’SIRIX will make it possible to access isotopic signals resulting from water-gas interactions within hydrothermal systems, thereby providing insights into the physicochemical conditions of these interactions and into subtle variations in the composition of deep fluids sourced from magmatic chambers. PRIMORDIAL will apply this new technique to monitor activity in the volcanic and hydrothermal regions surveyed by the OVS, with the aim of contributing to hazard assessment and eruption forecasting within the observatory.
Le Consortium
Université de Lorraine/CNRS – Université Paris Cité, Institut de physique du globe de Paris – Observatoire Volcanologique et Sismologique.
Societal impact
Our ambition is to make this unique instrument available to many fields of application, both in academia and industry. Beyond its core scientific objective, the facility will also enable the ultra-precise measurement of air, water, and volcanic gas samples, opening new opportunities in atmospheric and climate science, cosmochemistry, hydrology, resource exploration, as well as industrial applications such as nuclear waste disposal. Our goal is to establish a long-lasting facility based on a new generation dynamic noble gas mass spectrometer, one that will continue to serve a broad range of scientific and applied research beyond its original mission of deciphering the origins of Earth’s volatiles.
