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It grows. 28 (UPI) – For decades, planetary scientists have been operating under the assumption that the Earth was born dry and that its water arrives only later, via comets and asteroids.
But in a new study, published Friday in the journal Science, researchers argue that Earth was always wet, made up of waterlogged building blocks. The proof: a collection of meteorites called enstatite chondrites.
“[Enstatite chondrites] they are rocky meteorites made primarily of silicate, metal and sulfides, “lead study author Laurette Piani told UPI in an email.
“They have a very peculiar mineralogy with phases like calcium or magnesium sulphides, nitrides and silicides that are almost non-existent on Earth, although their isotopic compositions of many elements indicate a clear link to Earth’s building blocks,” Piani said. researcher at the University of Lorraine in France.
Because enstatite chondrites are delicate and reactive, they easily transform beyond recognition. Pristine enstatite chondrites, which are not damaged by collision, are especially rare. But most scientists agree that these rocks were the building blocks of the early Earth.
“Chondrules are among the most abundant components of early meteorites and are among the first solids to form in the solar system,” Piani said.
Because enstatite chondrites formed in the inner solar system, so close to the extreme heat of the sun, scientists have long assumed that these rocky meteorites were dry, totally devoid of hydrogen.
However, when Piani and his research partners examined enstatite chondrites using a couple of advanced imaging and isotopic analysis techniques, they found not only evidence that hydrogen is abundant in parts of early rocks, but that its proportions of Isotopes of hydrogen and nitrogen are similar to those found on Earth.
“We found that a part of the hydrogen is present dissolved in the silicate glass of the chondrules,” Piani said. “Chondrules are among the most abundant components of early meteorites and are among the first solids to form in the solar system.”
Their findings suggest that Earth’s building blocks were the opposite of dry ones.
“We propose in the article that the water present in the Earth’s mantle was inherited directly from a material similar to enstatite chondrite and present since the beginning of the Earth’s formation, while surface water, or oceans, could be made of about 95 percent EC-like material and 5 percent hydrated asteroids. “
In follow-up studies, the researchers hope to discover how enstatite chondrites came to harbor so many volatile elements.
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