Was the life-generating carbon on Earth the result of a planetary collision? That is the hypothesis put forth in a recently published paper by researchers from Rice University.
Was the life-generating carbon on Earth the result of a planetary collision?
That is the hypothesis put forth in a recently published paper by researchers from Rice University.
The study suggests that "...virtually all of Earth’s life-giving carbon could have come from a collision about 4.4 billion years ago between Earth and an embryonic planet similar to Mercury."
A news release issued by the university explains that scientists have long been puzzled over the existence of carbon in the mantle of the planet between the core and crust.
This is because many believe that “most of the planet’s carbon should have either boiled away in the planet’s earliest days or become locked in Earth’s core.” According to the release, "The experiments revealed that carbon could be excluded from the core — and relegated to the silicate mantle — if the iron alloys in the core were rich in either silicon or sulfur.”
After mapping out different scenarios, the team came up with the theory that “...embryonic planet like Mercury, which had already formed a silicon-rich core, collided with and was absorbed by Earth."
The researchers plan to continue working “to reconcile all of the volatile elements.”
