Recent study says Earth’s water may have formed as a result of chemical interactions between hydrogen-rich atmospheres and magmatic oceans during planet formation. This study suggests that Earth developed its own water, contradicting the theory that frozen comets or asteroids brought water to the dry, young Earth.
New research by Anat Shahar of Carnegie Science and Edward Young and Hilke Schlichting of UCLA shows, based on research on exoplanets, that interactions between a magmatic ocean and a proto-atmosphere of molecular hydrogen could have produced vast amounts of water early in Earth’s existence.
Source of water from our deep space
“The discovery of exoplanets has given us a much greater understanding of how common it is for newly formed planets to be surrounded by atmospheres rich in H2 molecular hydrogen during their first few million years of growth,” Shahar explained in a statement. “Eventually, these hydrogen envelopes dissipate, but leave fingerprints on the young planet’s composition.”
Deep space and asteroid impacts on water source
The findings contradict the theory that water arrived from deep space. One popular theory held that asteroid impacts were responsible for most of the planet’s water.
A study published recently in the journal Nature Astronomy suggested that the volatile, organic-rich C-type asteroids may have been one of the primary sources of water on Earth.
Plenty of water
According to the scientists, based on studies of common exoplanets discovered orbiting distant stars, the rocky material that collided to form the growing planet was completely dry, but the interaction between the molecular hydrogen atmosphere and the magmatic ocean would have produced plenty of water.
“Other sources of water are possible, they say, but not necessary to explain the current state of the Earth.”
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