Oxford Scientists Overturn Theories Of Origin Of Water On Earth

Study in UK: Scientists at Oxford University have found a source of hydrogen critical for the formation of water molecules. The new study has overturned previous theories of the origin of water on Earth.

Oxford University scientists have studied the origin of water on Earth and have uncovered significant evidence. To study this, they have used a rare type of meteorite similar to the early Earth and found a source of hydrogen, which is believed to be critical for the formation of water molecules on Earth. The study title is ‘The source of hydrogen in Earth's building blocks’.

The origin of hydrogen on Earth has been a highly debatable topic. There is an earlier belief that the necessary hydrogen was delivered from outer space by asteroids during Earth’s first approximately 100 million years. However, Oxford University's new findings have contradicted this theory and suggested that the Earth had the hydrogen it required to create water.

The scientists team collected the elemental composition of a meteorite known as LAR 12252 from Antarctica and analysed it using the elemental analysis technique called X-ray absorption Near Edge Structure (XANES) spectroscopy.

Experts' Comments On Oxford's Study On Origin Of Water

While commenting on this study, Tom Barrett, a DPhil student in the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of Oxford, who led the study, said, “We were incredibly excited when the analysis told us the sample contained hydrogen sulphide – just not where we expected! Because the likelihood of this hydrogen sulphide originating from terrestrial contamination is very low, this research provides vital evidence to support the theory that water on Earth is native - that it is a natural outcome of what our planet is made of.”

Co-author Associate Professor James Bryson (Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford) added, “A fundamental question for planetary scientists is how Earth came to look like it does today. We now think that the material that built our planet – which we can study using these rare meteorites – was far richer in hydrogen than we thought previously. This finding supports the idea that the formation of water on Earth was a natural process, rather than a fluke of hydrated asteroids bombarding our planet after it formed.”

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