RESEARCHERS from a North-East university have helped uncover a massive helium gas field which could address the increasingly critical shortage of the vital element.

Helium may be best known for making voices squeaky and keeping up party balloons but the rare elements is also critical for things like brain scanners, welding, industrial leak detection and nuclear energy.

Until now the gas, resources of which are declining, has never been found intentionally but a research group from Durham University has been involved in a new exploration approach which has led to the discovery of a vast gas field in Tanzania.

Working with researchers from Oxford University and Helium One, a helium exploration company based in Norway, they have come up with a method following research into volcanic activity.

The field in the Tanzanian East African Rift valley has a probable resource of 54 Billion Cubic Feet, enough to fill 1.2 million medical MRI scanners.

Professor Jon Gluyas, from Durham’s department of earth sciences, said: “This is an outstanding example of industry and academia working together closely to deliver real value to society. The impact of this and expected future helium discoveries will secure supply for the medical scanning and other industries.”

The research was presented by Durham PhD student Diveena Danabalan at the Goldschmidt geochemistry conference in Yokohama, Japan.

Professor Chris Ballentine, from Oxford University, said: “This is a game changer for the future security of society’s helium needs and similar finds in the future may not be far away.”

Because of the declining supplies of helium, some doctors have called for party balloons using the gas to be banned. -