Bs. Lollar et al., HELIUM AND NEON ISOTOPE SYSTEMATICS IN CARBON-DIOXIDE RICH AND HYDROCARBON-RICH GAS-RESERVOIRS, Geochimica et cosmochimica acta, 58(23), 1994, pp. 5279-5290
The isotopic compositions and elemental abundances of helium and neon
were measured in three natural gas reservoirs in the Pannonian sedimen
tary basin of Hungary. Kismarja (a CO2-rich reservoir), and Szeghalom-
South and Szeghalom-North (both CH4-dominated reservoirs) are located
on topographic basement highs close to the Derecske Sub-Basin in easte
rn Hungary. Mantle-derived neon has been identified in mixed CH4-CO2 r
eservoirs in the Vienna Basin, Austria. This study establishes that ma
ntle-derived neon and helium are a characteristic feature of gas reser
voirs throughout the Neogene extensional basins of Hungary and Austria
regardless of the dominant active gas composition. He-3/He-4 ratios w
ithin these samples are attributable to a two-component mixing between
mantle-derived and crustal-radiogenic helium. The percent contributio
n of mantle-derived He-4 varies from 2.3 to 17%. In contrast, neon iso
topic ratios indicate that the gases contain a significant component o
f atmosphere-derived neon in addition to the mantle- and crustal-deriv
ed components. Ne-20, Ne-21, and Ne-22 abundances can be corrected for
this atmospheric contribution. Calculated contributions of mantle- an
d crustal-derived Ne-21 are between 3.6-21% and 1-37%, respectively. N
e-20/Ne-22c and Ne-21/Ne-22c ratios derived for these atmosphere-corre
cted components correlate with measured R/Ra values and plot along a s
ingle two-component mixing line between crustal and mantle isotopic en
dmembers. This is consistent with a model in which simple mixing occur
s between crustal and mantle endmembers with fixed He/Ne ratios. The m
ixing line is defined by a hyperbolic constant K (where K = (He-4/Ne-2
2)rad/(He-4/Ne-22)mntl) with a mean value of 67.3 +/- 11.8. Based on e
stimated values of 0.47 for Ne-21/Ne-22rad and (1.62 +/- 0.03) x 10(7)
for (He-4/Ne-21)rad (Kennedy et al., 1990), values of 7.61 x 10(6) fo
r (He-4/Ne-22)rad and 11.3 x 10(4) for (He-4/Ne-22)mntl can be calcula
ted for the Pannonian Basin gases. This (He-4/Ne-22)mntl value is indi
stinguishable within error from the value of 8.04 x 10(4) calculated f
or rare gases in natural gases from the Vienna Basin. These results cl
early establish that the continental expression of mantle-derived rare
gases in continental extensional systems in Austria and Hungary is di
stinct and consistently different from that of gases discharging at th
e spreading ridges where best estimates of (He-4/Ne-22)mntl are 8.1-11
.3 times higher (9.10 x 10(5); Staudacher et al., 1989). Given the rem
arkable agreement in the continental expression of mantle-derived gase
s throughout the Pannonian and Vienna Basins, it is difficult to attri
bute the observed neon enrichment/helium depletion with respect to MOR
B gases to fractionation related to lithospheric transport processes.
Kinetic fractionation processes involved in transport through the crus
t might be expected to produce a much wider variation in the observed
He/Ne elemental ratios. The consistent, order-of-magnitude neon enrich
ment observed throughout these gas fields instead implies that mantle-
derived fluids in these continental extensional systems may be sourced
in a region of the mantle distinct from that supplying the mid-ocean
spreading ridges.