Earth's volatile elements came from outer solar system, new study suggests


Devdiscourse News Desk | St Andrews | Updated: 05-08-2022 15:33 IST | Created: 05-08-2022 15:33 IST
Earth's volatile elements came from outer solar system, new study suggests
Representative image Image Credit: Pixabay

A new study of meterorites' zinc isotope composition carried out by researchers at the University of St Andrews suggests that material from the outer solar system was an important source of volatile elements during Earth's formation.

The new study suggests that Earth must have accreted five to six percent of its global mass from material supposedly from the outer solar system. It shows that there is a difference between the zinc isotope composition of meteorites that formed in the inner solar system and those formed in the outer solar system.

"If we compare these meteorite compositions to Earth's zinc isotope composition, we see that Earth plots between the two groups and therefore Earth's zinc inventory is a mixture of both inner and outer solar system material. This points to both reservoirs as important sources of Earth's volatile element inventory," explained Dr Paul Savage, Senior Lecturer at the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences.

"One particularly crucial question asks from where did Earth receive its volatile elements? These are the sorts of elements that are crucial to life: did Earth get all of its volatile elements from the outer solar system, where today the gas and ice giant planets orbit, or is the drier, hotter inner solar system still an important source," Savage further added.

According to the study, although only a small proportion of Earth's total mass can come from the outer solar system, this material needs to be volatile-enriched, delivering around a third of Earth's total zinc budget. Elements more volatile than zinc were likely even more enriched in this outer solar system material, and therefore this reservoir was an even more significant source for Earth's volatile element inventory.

This study was conducted by researchers in the University's School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, in collaboration with workers at the Institut de Physique du globe de Paris and Université Clermont Auvergne.

Give Feedback