The effects of deep-sea volcanism on the noble gas concentration of ocean water

Slowly cooling deep-sea basalts interact with seawater and thereby exchange their mantle-derived noble gases with those dissolved in seawater. This process is a source of He and Ne in bottom water and at the same time a mechanism for removing Ar, Kr, and Xe from seawater. Mass balance calculations indicate that only in the case of He is the quantity of gas added or removed to or from seawater significant in relation to noble gas anomalies reported in ocean water.