Where does the earth's water originally come from?

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The origin of Earth's water is attributed to two main sources: some water was present in the form of hydrates locked within rocks during the planet's formation, which was released as the Earth became molten, and additional water arrived from comets and ice particles that impacted the planet over time. The exact contribution of each source remains uncertain. The discussion highlights that hydrogen, a key component of water, was formed shortly after the Big Bang, while oxygen is produced through stellar fusion and released into space via supernovae. Initially, high temperatures prevented water vapor from condensing in the primordial atmosphere, suggesting that the water we have today either existed in a stable form early on or was delivered later as the planet cooled.
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Where does the Earth's water originally come from? Any idea?

They said that:

Some of it was here when the Earth was made (but locked into the rocks as hydrates ... much of that released as the Earth became molten.)
And some came from comets and other ice particles that have bombarded the Earth since it was formed.
No one knows which part was the major contributor.

I still don't get it. Where does it really come from?:confused:
 
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It depends on what you mean by "originally", I'd think. Water consists of hydrogen and oxygen, as everyone knows. The vast majority of hydrogen was created shortly after the Big Bang. Oxygen is one of the main products of stellar fusion, and is being re-injected into the interstellar medium by means of supernova explosions. The material making up a protoplanetary disk is, in turn, taken directly from the interstellar medium. So there was no shortage of water in the stuff the Earth was assembled from.

The initial problem, I imagine, was that the temperature was too high for water vapour to be retained in the primordial atmosphere, let alone for it to condensate. Hence, the water that's around today must have either been present in a more permanent form early on (that would be the hydrates in the passage you quoted) or arrived later, once things have cooled down sufficiently (that would be the impactors).

Does that help?
 
onomatomanic said:
Does that help?

Yes, absolutely! :smile: Thank you very much onomatomanic! :wink:
 
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