Water Deep in Earth's Core May Come from Dust Swirling Around the Sun

[Judi Lynn]

By Mindy Weisberger, Live Science Senior Writer | November 9, 2018 04:17pm ET

Where did the building blocks of Earth's first water come from?

At least in part, from a cloud of gas and dust swirling around the sun, new research suggests.

Water is made up of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom, and rocky asteroids likely carried most of that hydrogen to Earth billions of years ago. However, the new research suggests that young Earth also received hydrogen from the solar nebula.

"Nearly one out of every 100 water molecules on Earth came from the solar nebula," researchers wrote in the new study, which was published online Oct. 9 in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets.

More:
https://www.space.com/42399-earth-water-came-from-sun.html

[Judi Lynn]

1. Some of Earth's Water Came From A Stream of Hydrogen Long Ago, Scientists Say

By Chelsea Gohd | November 9, 2018 4:53 pm

Forming an Ocean
When you look out at the ocean, it’s difficult to imagine the swaying body of water being any other way. But, says a team of researchers, some of the H2O that covers much of our planet’s surface was once something very different: A stream of hydrogen traveling through the galaxy. Only on Earth did this hydrogen mix with oxygen to create the watery world we know today.

There are a number of theories surrounding the formation of Earth’s global ocean. Comets, which hold a lot of ice, could have supplied some of our planet’s water; asteroids, though they hold less water, could have added to Earth’s supply as well. “But there’s another way to think about sources of water in the solar system’s formative days,” Steven Desch, a scientist on this team and professor of astrophysics in Arizona State University’s (ASU) School of Earth and Space Exploration (SESE), said in a statement. “Because water is hydrogen plus oxygen, and oxygen is abundant, any source of hydrogen could have served as the origin of Earth’s water,” Desch said.


Cosmic Dust and Gas
Hydrogen gas was one of the main ingredients in the solar nebula, or the gases and dust that formed the sun and planets in our solar system.

When the planets were forming, hydrogen from the solar nebula was incorporated into their interiors. While most remains locked below, some of it could have combined with oxygen from other materials on Earth and gone on to create our planet’s global ocean, Desch and his team found.

More:
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/d-brief/2018/11/09/asteroids-and-cosmic-dust-and-gas-formed-earths-global-ocean/#.W-ZwXpNKjIU