Research: Earth got its water from late-forming minor planets
The Earth gathered water-rich dwarf planets or their fragments in the form of asteroids or meteorites during its growth process, explained Berlin planetary researcher and first author of the study, Wladimir Neumann. This is why the Earth did not become a bone-dry, life-hostile planet.
These dwarf planets formed, according to the results of the current investigations, relatively late at lower temperatures outside the early solar system. They could partly conserve their water in crystalline form. However, it was different with dwarf planets that formed earlier and closer to the Sun. They lost their water due to the heat.
The results are based on computational models, according to the information. The research team relied on age data for certain classes of meteorites that were once ejected from dwarf planets. The research results were published in July in the journal "Nature Scientific Reports".
The foundations for the study were laid at the University of Heidelberg, at the Institute for Planetary Research of the German Aerospace Center in Cologne, and at the Institute for Geodesy of the Technical University of Berlin. In addition, other international research institutions were involved.
- The research team, including members from Ruprecht-Karls-University Heidelberg, utilized age data from specific meteorite classes to support their computational models in the studypublished in "Nature Scientific Reports".
- Wladimir Neumann, a Berlin planetary researcher and first author of the study, explained that Water-rich dwarf planets or their fragments contributed to Earth's water supply during its growth process.
- The findings suggest that late-forming minor planets, such as dwarf planets, could partly preserve their water in crystalline form, even as Earth-forming dwarf planets closer to the Sun typically lost their water due to heat.
