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Earth's Water Didn't Come From Outer Space

sciencehabit writes "Where did Earth's oceans come from? Astronomers have long contended that icy comets and asteroids delivered the water for them during an epoch of heavy bombardment that ended about 3.9 billion years ago. But a new study suggests that Earth supplied its own water, leaching it from the rocks that formed the planet. The finding may help explain why life on Earth appeared so early, and it may indicate that other rocky worlds are also awash in vast seas."

3 of 181 comments (clear)

  1. Not Invented Here - NOT by G3ckoG33k · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Not Invented Here - NOT

    This news goes in hand with the parsimonious explanation that the Earth is the endogenous source of life, too.

    I habitually distrust news that relate any process on Earth as influenced by Venus, Mars, or 'Outer Space'. Remember what a fool they made out of Bill Clinton with the 'bacteria from Mars'...

    Invented Here - YES!

  2. Re:So... there is a God? by vivian · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Keep up, will you? The water, which is the lifeblood of living things, came out of stones.

    I wonder how much this removal of water from the rocks depends on the earth having a hot mantle? If the mantle were cooler, then the water would stay there instead of being cooked out as steam and being able to re-condense else where. This is massively speculative of course - but could part of the reason mars no longer has a liquid ocean be that since the planet has cooled now, all it's water is locked up back in the rocks again? Is the fact that we have a hot interior on our planet the main driving factor that allows us to have a liquid ocean?

  3. Of course it did by joeyblades · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Everything that exists on this planet was the output from stars. Therefore, everything on Earth came from outer space, including it's water. The only question is when did the water arrive relative to the majority of the other star debris.