How did the water reach the earth? Researchers with a new theory for our planet

A research team from the Carnegie Institution for Science in Washington, D.C., put forward a new theory for how water got to Earth.

It seems that how water got to Earth has been clarified so far, but there has been no clear evidence yet. What is meant is evidence that asteroids or comets have brought water with them.

Now a research team from the Carnegie Institution for Science in Washington, D.C., has a new explanation. It is that water is the result of “chemical reactions between a Hydrogen-rich atmosphere and magma oceans on the early Earth,” writes “Frankfurter Rundschau” (in French) and refers to the results published by scientists in the journal “Nature”.

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A new theory about the origin of water on Earth

The research group, led by Anat Shachar, drew inspiration from exoplanet research for their studies. Therefore, they “applied knowledge about the atmospheres of alien planets outside our solar system to Earth,” according to FR.

It often happens that planets that have just formed are surrounded by atmospheres rich in molecular hydrogen in the first million years. Scientists gained this understanding through the discovery of exoplanets.

“Eventually, these hydrogen shells dissipate, but they leave their fingerprints on the formation of the young planet,” Shahar explains.

Hydrogen versus magmatic ocean

Based on this information, the researchers created new models of Earth’s formation and development, and were finally able to use the model to prove that some things must have started rolling in between the early Earth’s hydrogen-rich atmosphere and magma. Ocean.

This is how clumps of hydrogen would have moved around in Earth’s metallic core. The Earth’s mantle was oxidized and a large amount of water was formed – in the form of chemical processes.

The study says: “Water is produced from dry raw materials (…) by the interaction of oxygen from magma oceans with hydrogen.” “The interaction with hydrogen atmospheres and the mineral and silicate balance thus provides a simple explanation for the fundamental features of Earth’s chemistry consistent with the formation of rocky planets across the galaxy.”

These reactions may also occur if rocks in the inner solar system are completely dry. Other water sources are possible but not necessary, writes FR, citing the researchers.

“But the explanation will provide an important link between Earth’s formation history and the most common exoplanets discovered – super-Earths and super-Neptunes,” Shahar said. However, the group’s result is only one possible explanation for Earth’s evolution.