A type of meteorite terrestrial rock known as anastatite chondrite has a similar isotopic resemblance and may be representative of the elements that make up the earth.
A new study published in the journal Science found that these meteorites contain enough hydrogen to carry at least three times the amount of sea water to Earth
Enstatite Chondrite is a celestial rock forming a solar system from a nebula.
These are rare, making up about 2% of the meteorites known in the collection. However, their isotopic resemblance to terrestrial rocks makes them special.
They have the same oxygen, titanium and calcium isotopes as Earth, and new research has shown that their hydrogen and nitrogen isotopes are similar to Earth.
“Our findings show that the Earth’s tectonic blocks can make a significant contribution to Earth’s water,” said University of Laurent researcher Dr. Loretta Piani said.
“Hydrogen-carrying material was present in the inner solar system during the formation of rocky planets, although the frequent temperature of the water was very low.”
The tectonic blocks of the Earth are often considered dry. These come from the interior regions of the solar system where temperatures would become too high for water to condense and combine with other solids during planet formation.
The meteorites provide a clue that the water did not have to come from very far away.
Postdoctoral researcher at the University of Washington, St. Louis. “The most interesting part of the discovery for me is the Enstati chondritis, which was supposed to be almost dry, with unexpectedly large amounts of water,” said Lionel Vacher, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Washington in St. Louis. Lionel Vacher says.
“If Enstatite chondrites were effectively building blocks of our planet – as strongly suggested by their similar isotopic compositions – this result suggests that these types of chondrites provided enough water to explain the Earth’s water source, which is amazing!”
The team further suggested that a huge amount of atmospheric nitrogen – the most abundant element in the Earth’s atmosphere – could come from anesthetized chondrite.
Dr. “There are only a few early anesthetized chondritis: they haven’t changed into asteroids or Earth,” Piani said.
“In our study, we carefully selected Enstitite Chondroit Metorites and applied a special analytical method to avoid being biased by groundwater inputs.”
The combination of conventional mass spectrometry and secondary ion mass spectrometry allows scientists to accurately measure the composition and composition of small amounts of water within meteorites.
“Prior to this study, it was generally assumed that anesthetic chondritis was formed near the sun,” said Dr. Piani.
“These chondrites were generally considered dry, and this frequently restored hypothesis probably prevented any extensive analysis for hydrogen.”
