Asteroid that helped form Earth may have held twice as much water

Carbonaceous asteroids like Ryugu, rich in water and carbon, are thought to have played a key role in the formation of life and water resources on the planet humans inhabit today.

A team of researchers from Japan's University of Tokyo and others has discovered that an asteroid believed to have helped form Earth may contain twice as much water as previously thought.

The discovery was the result of analysis of samples brought back by Japan's Hayabusa2 spacecraft from the asteroid Ryugu.

The research results were published in the British scientific journal Nature last week.

Asteroids formed in the early stages of the Solar System became the building blocks of planets like Earth. Among them, carbonaceous asteroids like Ryugu, rich in water and carbon, are believed to have played an important role in the formation of life and water resources on the planet where humans live today.

According to scientists, water on Earth may have been created from hydrated minerals, formed by chemical reactions between water and asteroid rocks. By dating rock samples brought back from Ryugu using the method of analyzing the metal isotopes contained in them, the research team discovered that water existed as ice in the asteroid's interior for more than a billion years after it formed, that is, about 4.6 billion years ago.

Previously, scientists believed that this water would turn into hydrated minerals or disappear within a few million years.

The long-held view is that Earth’s water originated from asteroids that were broken up during impacts, causing water-rich minerals to accumulate on the planet early in its formation. But the new findings suggest that Earth may have been supplied with more water than previously thought.

Specifically, the research team discovered that the amount of water supplied to the early Earth was equivalent to 60-90 times the mass of today's oceans, enough to cover the entire land. However, many questions remain unanswered, such as where that water went.

"We want to clarify how this huge amount of water operated during the formation and evolution of the Earth," said Associate Professor Tsuyoshi Iizuka of the University of Tokyo, who led the research team.

(Vietnam News Agency/Vietnam+)

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/tieu-hanh-tinh-gop-phan-tao-nen-trai-dat-co-the-chua-luong-nuoc-nhieu-gap-doi-post1061317.vnp