Earth And Other Planets Got Their First Water From Unexpected Source - Earth.Com

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• "Himalayan Ice-Core Discovery Reveals Ancient Water Cycle" (The Guardian, 2022): Scientists discovered ancient water cycles in Himalayan ice cores, challenging our understanding of Earth's climate history. • "Exoplanet 'Water World' Found Orbiting Distant Star" (NASA, 2020): Astronomers discovered an exoplanet dubbed "K2-18b" that is believed to be a "water world," covered in oceans and lakes. • "Oceans Hold More Microplastics Than Expected, New Study Finds" (The New York Times, 2022): Researchers revealed that the world's oceans contain a staggering amount of microplastics, with a significant portion coming from land-based sources. • "NASA's Mars 2020 Rover Discovers Ancient Lake Bed on Red Planet" (Space. com, 2020): NASA's Mars 2020 rover discovered evidence of an ancient lake bed on Mars... providing insights into the planet's watery past. • "Scientists Discover New Form of Water That Can Exist at Room Temperature" (Scientific American, 2019): Researchers discovered a previously unknown form of water that can exist at room temperature, "with potential applications in fields such as medicine and energy." • "Tunnel-Digging Worms Found in Deep Ocean, Challenge Our Understanding of ___" (The Independent, 2022): A new species of worm has been discovered that can burrow through deep-sea sediment... pushing the boundaries of what we thought was possible for ___ on Earth.

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Ever wonder how our seemingly dry, fireball Earth got its first water during the early days of our planet? Well, some recent findings might just quench your thirst for knowledge.

Thanks to the age data obtained from certain meteorite classes, we now have fresh insights into the birth of water-rich cosmic bodies in the primordial solar system.

These mini astronomical structures, or planetesimals as they're scientifically known, played the role of a cosmic delivery service , continually bringing in materials for planet construction – including our own Earth, which initially had little water to begin with.

Enter Professor Dr. Mario Trieloff, the director of the Klaus Tschira Laboratory for Cosmochemistry at Heidelberg University's Institute of Earth Sciences .

He explains, ⁘These small bodies did not just supply the building materials for the planets.⁘ They are, in reality, the very source of Earth's water, Trieloff adds.

These planetesimals themselves emerged at cooler temperatures in the outer solar system , where ice existed as solid-state water.

This is in stark contrast to other celestial bodies that formed earlier in the solar system's history, which were too hot and too close to the sun to harbor ice.

The early-forming bodies experienced intense thermal conditions, preventing the accumulation or retention of volatile substances such as water .

By meticulously analyzing age data and utilizing sophisticated computational models, an international research team, including distinguished earth scientists from Heidelberg University, was able to trace the thermal evolution of the parent bodies of these planetesimals.