Explained: How water came to earth
After centuries of research, scientists now finally have the answer to how water came to be on our planet Earth. Earth, often regarded as the ‘blue planet’, owes its high content of water. However, until recently, it was a mystery as to where so much of water came from.
What is the source of water on earth?
We all know that only 30 per cent of the earth’s surface is covered by land while majority of it (about 70 per cent) is covered in water. Finally, scientists have concluded that water on earth came from C-type group of asteroids, also called carbonaceous.
However, they have also revealed that these clusters of asteroids weren’t the sole source of water on earth, as it is free of deuterium or the heavier version of hydrogen. In fact, sun has been regarded as another major other sources.
How did sun impact the earth’s water content?
Sun may have played a significant role in the formation of water on earth. As is known, solar winds are comprised of charged particles of hydrogen and helium ions and if they ever came in contact with asteroids or their dust, the solar wind’s hydrogen ions would have interacted with the asteroids’ oxygen ions to change the chemical composition into water molecules or H2O. This process is called space weathering.
In fact, it was in 2010, that the first proof of sun’s involvement in the water creation of earth. Samples from the asteroid Itokawa’s dust-sized particles were discovered by Japanese space agency’s probe Hayabusa. However, this research was inconclusive.
Finally, scientists from different parts of the world united and published a paper on their collective findings in the science journal Nature Astronomy on 29th November 2021 that reveals that the sun indeed was the primary contributor of water on earth. In fact, hydrogen from solar winds and deuterium from asteroids were the main source of earth’s water that rained down to form earth’s oceans. This study was made possible due to technological advancements like
‘Attometre tomography.’
This mechanism offers an insight into how small dust particles from asteroids that float in space and let us maintain balance of the isotopic composition of the earth’s water.
The study also paves the way for scientists and space explorers to ensure water supply on space, moon or other dry planets.