Scientists Claim Water on Earth Was Formed Naturally and Did Not Land as a Fluke of Hydrated Asteroids
Water is one of the biggest factors behind life on Earth. Researchers are always looking for answers to how water formed on the planet. The most popular theory is that one of its constituents came in the form of asteroids, according to Earth. A new study in Icarus, though, challenges this claim.
The study claims that hydrogen, one of the main components of water, was already present on the planet. This assertion was made based on the examination of a rare meteorite, an enstatite chondrite. These meteorites are unique because past studies have proved that they are made of materials that resemble the matter from which Earth was made 4.55 billion years ago.
The team analyzed a meteorite known as LAR 12252, which was found in Antarctica through X-Ray Absorption Near Edge Structure (XANES) spectroscopy, stated SciTech Daily. LAR 12252 was previously examined by a different team, who claimed that hydrogen traces were present inside the organic portions and non-crystalline parts of the chondrules. In the remaining area, they were unsure if the element was present. Hence, they were not fully certain if hydrogen was native to the meteorite or seeped in through contamination. If the former was true, then that meant the meteorite and, by extension, the past Earth environment had hydrogen. But if the latter claim was correct, then it solidified the asteroid theory.
The team associated with the study believed that hydrogen could be present in the meteorite's abundant sulfur. To verify this, they had to first locate the sulfur-bearing compounds in the meteorite. For this, the team subjected the meteorite to a powerful beam of X-rays. In the sample, they found both non-crystalline parts as well as crystalline portions. At first, the team focused on the non-crystalline portions, then they ventured into the surrounding area. This area contained fine (sub-micrometer) material, which, after analysis, was also found to be rich in hydrogen. In fact, estimates revealed that the amount of hydrogen in these portions was five times more than in the non-crystalline chondrules.
The abundance of hydrogen in different portions of LAR 12252 implied that its material had native hydrogen. This further indicates that the Earth of the past had enough hydrogen reserves to form water before becoming big enough to be struck by asteroids. The finding indicates that proto-Earth clearly had more hydrogen than previously thought, and it was perfectly possible for water to have formed through natural processes.
Researchers were stunned to have made this discovery of hydrogen sulfide from the meteorite. Such examinations are typically difficult to conduct for experts because the chemical element is hard to measure, especially at low concentrations, according to CNN. Now the researchers want to examine more such asteroids using the methodology they used in this study, to figure out how much hydrogen was present on Earth in the past, and how much possibly came from asteroids. This would give them a clearer picture of how water eventually formed on Earth.