Latest news with #LAR12252
CNN
17-04-2025
- Science
- CNN
New evidence challenges theories of origin of water on Earth, study suggests
Researchers say they have uncovered evidence that early Earth was home to more hydrogen than previously thought, calling into question widely held beliefs about the origins of water and the evolution of our planet. Scientists from the University of Oxford analyzed a rare type of meteorite known as an enstatite chondrite. The space rock dates to around 4.6 billion years ago and is believed to be similar in composition to early Earth, according to a study published Wednesday in the journal Icarus. The researchers found that the majority of the hydrogen contained within the meteorite was intrinsic, rather than being present due to contamination, suggesting that early Earth would have been home to sufficient hydrogen to have allowed the formation of water molecules. This finding calls into question the widely held belief that hydrogen arrived on Earth in asteroids that bombarded what was previously a dry, rocky planet incapable of supporting life. 'We assumed that Earth has water today because of quite a lucky scenario where it had been hit by these asteroids,' lead study author Tom Barrett, a doctoral student in the department of Earth sciences at the University of Oxford, told CNN on Wednesday. 'But what we've demonstrated in this study is that actually the material which formed Earth in the first instance actually did contain a lot of hydrogen and oxygen,' he added. 'The discovery of hydrogen in this meteorite means that Earth potentially could have been hydrated or wet from its initial formation.' As for why the levels of hydrogen identified in the study previously hadn't been detected, Barrett explained the chemical element is hard to measure, particularly at such low concentrations. The detection was only possible thanks to a technique known as X-ray Absorption Near Edge Structure, or XANES, spectroscopy, he said. 'To do that you need a particle accelerator,' he said. 'This is like an enormous, really expensive facility, which we've been very fortunate to have used to this study. But it's not exactly the kind of experiment that you can do in the garage.' The study potentially upends our understanding of early Earth, but the discovery of hydrogen in the meteorite doesn't mean that life would have necessarily evolved sooner, Barrett said. This is because the habitability of a planet may depend more on the way it evolves than the material it is formed from, he said. A team of scientists at the French National Centre for Scientific Research had previously analyzed the meteorite, known as LAR 12252, which had been collected in Antarctica. The August 2020 study found that the space rock's chondrules, or minuscule spherical objects, and organic material contained within it had traces of hydrogen. The research, however, only accounted for a portion of the hydrogen within the meteorite. The researchers behind the new study believed more hydrogen could be attached to sulphur within the meteorite. The team unexpectedly detected hydrogen sulphide within the fine matrix immediately surrounding the chondrules — 'on average almost 10 times more' hydrogen sulphide than found in the spherical objects, according to the study. 'We were incredibly excited when the analysis told us the sample contained hydrogen sulphide — just not where we expected!' Barrett said in a statement. '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.' Next, Barrett plans to analyze more meteorites in an effort to ascertain exactly how much hydrogen would have been present on Earth, and how much may have been delivered from external sources. Working out how Earth came to look the way it does today is a fundamental question for planetary scientists, said study coauthor James Bryson, an associate professor in the department of Earth sciences at the University of Oxford. '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,' he said. '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.' Matt Genge, a planetary scientist at Imperial College London, who was not involved in the study, told CNN that while the study is an 'interesting result,' the evidence is not sufficient to overturn the longstanding theory of the origins of water. The meteorite in question had been in Antarctica likely for hundreds of thousands of years, he said, and it is impossible to completely rule out the chance that the hydrogen may have formed during that time. 'Just the fact that there is a possibility makes the argument less strong,' Genge said. Bryson acknowledged that the meteorite was indeed likely on Earth for many years before it was collected but stands by the study results. 'We believe we have taken every effort we can in our analysis workflow to mitigate the impact of terrestrial water on our results, and we do think that some of the total amount of H (hydrogen) in the meteorite is due to Earth's water (maybe about 15%),' Bryson said via email in response to Genge's statement. 'We also think that some H (hydrogen) was still delivered from asteroids and comets, however we now think this is a small proportion of the total H (hydrogen) found throughout our planet. So Matt's assessment of this meteorite is justified, but we strived to minimise his concern.'
CNN
17-04-2025
- Science
- CNN
New evidence challenges theories of origin of water on Earth, study suggests
Researchers say they have uncovered evidence that early Earth was home to more hydrogen than previously thought, calling into question widely held beliefs about the origins of water and the evolution of our planet. Scientists from the University of Oxford analyzed a rare type of meteorite known as an enstatite chondrite. The space rock dates to around 4.6 billion years ago and is believed to be similar in composition to early Earth, according to a study published Wednesday in the journal Icarus. The researchers found that the majority of the hydrogen contained within the meteorite was intrinsic, rather than being present due to contamination, suggesting that early Earth would have been home to sufficient hydrogen to have allowed the formation of water molecules. This finding calls into question the widely held belief that hydrogen arrived on Earth in asteroids that bombarded what was previously a dry, rocky planet incapable of supporting life. 'We assumed that Earth has water today because of quite a lucky scenario where it had been hit by these asteroids,' lead study author Tom Barrett, a doctoral student in the department of Earth sciences at the University of Oxford, told CNN on Wednesday. 'But what we've demonstrated in this study is that actually the material which formed Earth in the first instance actually did contain a lot of hydrogen and oxygen,' he added. 'The discovery of hydrogen in this meteorite means that Earth potentially could have been hydrated or wet from its initial formation.' As for why the levels of hydrogen identified in the study previously hadn't been detected, Barrett explained the chemical element is hard to measure, particularly at such low concentrations. The detection was only possible thanks to a technique known as X-ray Absorption Near Edge Structure, or XANES, spectroscopy, he said. 'To do that you need a particle accelerator,' he said. 'This is like an enormous, really expensive facility, which we've been very fortunate to have used to this study. But it's not exactly the kind of experiment that you can do in the garage.' The study potentially upends our understanding of early Earth, but the discovery of hydrogen in the meteorite doesn't mean that life would have necessarily evolved sooner, Barrett said. This is because the habitability of a planet may depend more on the way it evolves than the material it is formed from, he said. A team of scientists at the French National Centre for Scientific Research had previously analyzed the meteorite, known as LAR 12252, which had been collected in Antarctica. The August 2020 study found that the space rock's chondrules, or minuscule spherical objects, and organic material contained within it had traces of hydrogen. The research, however, only accounted for a portion of the hydrogen within the meteorite. The researchers behind the new study believed more hydrogen could be attached to sulphur within the meteorite. The team unexpectedly detected hydrogen sulphide within the fine matrix immediately surrounding the chondrules — 'on average almost 10 times more' hydrogen sulphide than found in the spherical objects, according to the study. 'We were incredibly excited when the analysis told us the sample contained hydrogen sulphide — just not where we expected!' Barrett said in a statement. '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.' Next, Barrett plans to analyze more meteorites in an effort to ascertain exactly how much hydrogen would have been present on Earth, and how much may have been delivered from external sources. Working out how Earth came to look the way it does today is a fundamental question for planetary scientists, said study coauthor James Bryson, an associate professor in the department of Earth sciences at the University of Oxford. '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,' he said. '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.' Matt Genge, a planetary scientist at Imperial College London, who was not involved in the study, told CNN that while the study is an 'interesting result,' the evidence is not sufficient to overturn the longstanding theory of the origins of water. The meteorite in question had been in Antarctica likely for hundreds of thousands of years, he said, and it is impossible to completely rule out the chance that the hydrogen may have formed during that time. 'Just the fact that there is a possibility makes the argument less strong,' Genge said. Bryson acknowledged that the meteorite was indeed likely on Earth for many years before it was collected but stands by the study results. 'We believe we have taken every effort we can in our analysis workflow to mitigate the impact of terrestrial water on our results, and we do think that some of the total amount of H (hydrogen) in the meteorite is due to Earth's water (maybe about 15%),' Bryson said via email in response to Genge's statement. 'We also think that some H (hydrogen) was still delivered from asteroids and comets, however we now think this is a small proportion of the total H (hydrogen) found throughout our planet. So Matt's assessment of this meteorite is justified, but we strived to minimise his concern.'
Forbes
16-04-2025
- Science
- Forbes
Oxford Researchers Add New Wrinkle To Mystery Of Earth's Water
A view of Earth from the Space Shuttle Discovery shows late afternoon sun on the Andes Mountains, ... More with glare and heavy cloud illumination. One of the more counterintuitive explanations for how Earth came to be what it is today may have just been overturned. The popular theory has been that the source of our planet's abundant water is asteroids bombarding our world billions of years ago, but new research finds Earth may have formed with all it needed for the formation of water molecules. A research team from the University of Oxford analyzed a rare type of meteorite that is known to have a composition analogous to prehistoric earth over 4 billion years ago. That composition includes an amount of intrinsic hydrogen greater than what scientists previously expected was present on Earth during its formation. Hydrogen, as the 'H' in H2O, is obviously a key component in the creation of water. The leading assumption has been that Earth was not initially rich enough in hydrogen to support the formation of water. The theory goes that the hydrogen required for water to become so abundant here had to instead be 'delivered' by the frequent bombardment of hydrogen-toting asteroids during Earth's first 100 million years or so. This was a period when the inner solar system was much more crowded with cosmic debris and such collisions were relatively nonstop. But the composition of LAR 12252, a meteorite found originally in Antarctica, points to plenty of native hydrogen being present on Earth, even without so much violent 'help' from overzealous ancient asteroid visitors. The meteorite used in the study - LAR12252 - when it was discovered in Antarctica. '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,' said Oxford student Tom Barrett, who led the study, in a statement. The study has been published in the journal Icarus. The case that Earth came ready-made with its own water production means isn't quite a slam dunk. Other researchers have analyzed similar meteorites and come to the conclusion that they are indeed evidence of an extra-terrestrial water delivery vehicle. A resulting subject of debate is whether such meteorites actually brought all the hydrogen with them, or did they actually pick it up when they smashed into a hydrogen-rich early Earth? So the debate will likely continue, but the new study from Barrett and colleagues provides more evidence that Earth likely would have wound up wet no matter what, even if it may have been helped along by asteroids. Other theories of Earthly water origins abound too. They include everything from a volcanic source to earth outgassing water molecules as it cooled shortly after its formation.
Yahoo
16-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
How did water end up on Earth? New evidence upends long-held theory.
Water is at the center of one of the enduring questions about how life first formed on Earthr. More specifically, where did the very first water molecules form, and how? In 2020, researchers at France's University of Lorraine announced evidence seen in a meteorite known as Sahara 97096 that supported an increasingly popular theory: Earth's original water ingredients hid inside meteorites that collided with the planet billions of years ago. But a team at the University of Oxford is now countering that claim, and says proto-Earth had all the hydrogen it needed to kickstart life. Their conclusions were published on April 16 in the journal Icarus, and come after analyzing a similar meteorite recovered from Antarctica. The key to their counterargument resides in a rare type of space rock called enstatite chondrite. The meteorite's composition is particularly significant to planetary scientists because it's comparable to the planet as it was 4.55 billion years ago. While Sahara 97096 is an enstatite chondite, very few other specimens are known to exist on Earth. A specimen called LAR 12252 offers another example—and the University of Oxford's team recently took the space rock for a field trip to the Diamond Light Source synchrotron in Harwell, Oxfordshire. There, they used the particle accelerator facility to perform an X-Ray Absorption Near Edge Structure (XANES) spectroscopy. XANES works by directing X-rays onto a sample whose atoms absorb the energy. Doing so allows certain chemicals to form depending on an object's elemental makeup, as well as causes atoms to bond in distinctive ways. In this case, researchers were looking for compounds that included sulfur. The previous analysis of Sahara 97096 revealed traces of hydrogen in organic materials and non-crystalline sections of the meteorite. But at the time, it wasn't clear if the remainder of Sahara 97096's identifiable hydrogen was native to the rock, or if it came from external contamination on Earth. Scientists at the University of Oxford theorized that using XANES spectroscopy may show hydrogen attached to LAR 12252's large amounts of sulphur. The team first focused on the meteorite's non-crystalline parts where hydrogen was previously found in Sahara 97096. During the experiment, however, they also accidentally analyzed neighboring sub-micrometer material. But it was this nearby section that contained hydrogen sulfide with five times more hydrogen than the non-crystalline parts. Conversely, sections of LAR 12252 with cracks and obvious contamination signs like rust showed very little or zero hydrogen. Because of this, the team believes it is extremely unlikely that LAR 12252's hydrogen sulfide originated on Earth. While this may at first sound like it supports the theory that meteorites carried the hydrogen needed for water to Earth, the study's authors argue the opposite. Remember how enstatite chondrite is basically identical to proto-Earth's geological composition? The analysis of LAR 12252's native amounts of hydrogen sulfide could imply that our planet had all the hydrogen it needed to form the very first water molecules that eventually allowed for life to begin. 'We were incredibly excited when the analysis told us the sample contained hydrogen sulphide—just not where we expected,' study lead Tom Barrett said in a statement. '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.' According to study co-author James Bryson, the results make a strong case for Earth providing its own resources for the development of life. 'We now think that the material that built our planet… was far richer in hydrogen than we thought previously,' he added. '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.' All that said, the findings can't confirm the terrestrial life theory beyond a doubt. There's still a chance hydrogen-heavy meteorites helped us along. Still, the new evidence makes a strong case that ancient Earth had the ability to form water all on its own—no space rocks needed.
