Earth's atmosphere & oceans came from space, not from volcanoes

Two separate studies are claiming that Earth's two most prominent
surface fluids, air and water, came not from within but from outer
space. I have my doubts about these studies' conclusions, it seems like
a stretch that there could be enough air and water brought from meteors
that are being randomly hurled toward the inner solar system, especially
when the vast majority of them are likely heading towards the Sun.

Yousuf Khan

Are Earth's Oceans Made Of Extraterrestrial Material?
"According to books, the ocean and the atmosphere were formed from
volcanic gases and the Earth's interior is the source of volatile
elements. However, the rocks of the Earth's mantle are deficient in
water (geochemists estimate its concentration at two hundredth percent).
The same is true on Earth's sister planets, Venus and Mars. The main
reason proposed by Albarède is that, during the formation of the Solar
System, the temperature never dropped sufficiently between the Sun and
the orbit of Jupiter for volatile elements to be able to condense with
planetary material. The arrival of water on Earth therefore corresponds
to a late episode of planetary accretion."
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases...1111110045.htm

Earth's atmosphere came from outer space, scientists find
""We found a clear meteorite signature in volcanic gases," said Dr Greg
Holland the project's lead scientist.

"From that we now know that the volcanic gases could not have
contributed in any significant way to the Earth's atmosphere."
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases...1210153538.htm

On a sunny day (Sat, 12 Dec 2009 16:55:27 -0500) it happened Yousuf Khan
wrote in :

Two separate studies are claiming that Earth's two most prominent
surface fluids, air and water, came not from within but from outer
space. I have my doubts about these studies' conclusions, it seems like
a stretch that there could be enough air and water brought from meteors
that are being randomly hurled toward the inner solar system, especially
when the vast majority of them are likely heading towards the Sun.

Yousuf Khan

It is obvious in a way, and I think this is correct.
It could also mean earth gained volume long ago, gained a lot of mass,
and the heavier creatures could not handle the gravity and died.
My speculation :-)
That could have happened much later, impacts of one or more a huge ice balls.

Jan Panteltje wrote:
On a sunny day (Sat, 12 Dec 2009 16:55:27 -0500) it happened Yousuf Khan
wrote in :

Two separate studies are claiming that Earth's two most prominent
surface fluids, air and water, came not from within but from outer
space. I have my doubts about these studies' conclusions, it seems like
a stretch that there could be enough air and water brought from meteors
that are being randomly hurled toward the inner solar system, especially
when the vast majority of them are likely heading towards the Sun.

Yousuf Khan

It is obvious in a way, and I think this is correct.
It could also mean earth gained volume long ago, gained a lot of mass,
and the heavier creatures could not handle the gravity and died.
My speculation :-)
That could have happened much later, impacts of one or more a huge ice balls.

I have no problem accepting that the original air and water came from
the meteors and planetesimals that formed the Earth at the beginning, as
there was plenty of material to go around at that time. And the Sun
wasn't as much of a target within original nursery dust cloud, as it too
was forming at that time.

But after formation, things must have gotten a bit more static in their
mass ratios. Any asteroids and comets coming towards the inner solar
system were likely hitting the objects of the inner solar system (i.e.
the terrestrial planets & the Sun) based on the ratio of these objects'
masses.

So when things were a bit more mixed up during formation, these items
had more chance of getting to every object as they formed.

Basically, it's more likely the chemicals arrived during formation than
during late heavy bombardment.

Yousuf Khan

On a sunny day (Sun, 13 Dec 2009 01:42:52 -0500) it happened Yousuf Khan
wrote in :

Jan Panteltje wrote:
On a sunny day (Sat, 12 Dec 2009 16:55:27 -0500) it happened Yousuf Khan
wrote in :

Two separate studies are claiming that Earth's two most prominent
surface fluids, air and water, came not from within but from outer
space. I have my doubts about these studies' conclusions, it seems like
a stretch that there could be enough air and water brought from meteors
that are being randomly hurled toward the inner solar system, especially
when the vast majority of them are likely heading towards the Sun.

Yousuf Khan

It is obvious in a way, and I think this is correct.
It could also mean earth gained volume long ago, gained a lot of mass,
and the heavier creatures could not handle the gravity and died.
My speculation :-)
That could have happened much later, impacts of one or more a huge ice balls.

I have no problem accepting that the original air and water came from
the meteors and planetesimals that formed the Earth at the beginning, as
there was plenty of material to go around at that time. And the Sun
wasn't as much of a target within original nursery dust cloud, as it too
was forming at that time.

But after formation, things must have gotten a bit more static in their
mass ratios. Any asteroids and comets coming towards the inner solar
system were likely hitting the objects of the inner solar system (i.e.
the terrestrial planets & the Sun) based on the ratio of these objects'
masses.

So when things were a bit more mixed up during formation, these items
had more chance of getting to every object as they formed.

Basically, it's more likely the chemicals arrived during formation than
during late heavy bombardment.

Yousuf Khan

If you look at very old maps of the earth, you will see the continents
sort of glued together.
Those are now apart, due to continental drift they say.
In the middle of the oceans between those continents there is
a volcanic ridge still spewing out material.
It could also be that some giant body impacted and increased the earth mass,
blew it up like a balloon, and caused the oceans and the separation of the continents,

Jan Panteltje wrote:
If you look at very old maps of the earth, you will see the continents
sort of glued together.
Those are now apart, due to continental drift they say.
In the middle of the oceans between those continents there is
a volcanic ridge still spewing out material.
It could also be that some giant body impacted and increased the earth mass,
blew it up like a balloon, and caused the oceans and the separation of the continents,

Well, it sounds like you're thinking about the Theia hypothesis. The one
that suggests that a Mars-sized protoplanet hit the Earth protoplanet
early in its history which resulted in the Moon being created in orbit
around the Earth from the leftover debris. But of course that hit
would've happened 4.5 billion years ago, too long ago for the
continental drift you're talking about.

There is another theory of Moon formation, called Fission, which
suggests that a rapidly spinning Earth with an instability in its
interior ended up lopping off a portion of itself. The remaining piece
went into orbit as the Moon. The continents are the scar left behind by
the emergence of the Moon.

I personally don't think either theory is likely. I prefer the
co-formation theory, which suggests that both the Earth and Moon formed
within the same region simultaneously as co-planets. The Earth got the
bulk of the materials, and became the main body. This would better
explain the fact that the Moon orbits in the same plane as the Earth
orbits the Sun.

Yousuf Khan

On a sunny day (Sat, 19 Dec 2009 13:21:03 -0500) it happened Yousuf Khan
wrote in :

Jan Panteltje wrote:
If you look at very old maps of the earth, you will see the continents
sort of glued together.
Those are now apart, due to continental drift they say.
In the middle of the oceans between those continents there is
a volcanic ridge still spewing out material.
It could also be that some giant body impacted and increased the earth mass,
blew it up like a balloon, and caused the oceans and the separation of the continents,

Well, it sounds like you're thinking about the Theia hypothesis. The one
that suggests that a Mars-sized protoplanet hit the Earth protoplanet
early in its history which resulted in the Moon being created in orbit
around the Earth from the leftover debris. But of course that hit
would've happened 4.5 billion years ago, too long ago for the
continental drift you're talking about.

There is another theory of Moon formation, called Fission, which
suggests that a rapidly spinning Earth with an instability in its
interior ended up lopping off a portion of itself. The remaining piece
went into orbit as the Moon. The continents are the scar left behind by
the emergence of the Moon.

I personally don't think either theory is likely. I prefer the
co-formation theory, which suggests that both the Earth and Moon formed
within the same region simultaneously as co-planets. The Earth got the
bulk of the materials, and became the main body. This would better
explain the fact that the Moon orbits in the same plane as the Earth
orbits the Sun.

Yousuf Khan

I was not talking about the moon's formation.
Could well have happened that last way you mentioned, or some other way.
Try reading again what I wrote.

On Dec 12, 1:55*pm, Yousuf Khan wrote:
Two separate studies are claiming that Earth's two most prominent
surface fluids, air and water, came not from within but from outer
space. I have my doubts about these studies' conclusions, it seems like
a stretch that there could be enough air and water brought from meteors
that are being randomly hurled toward the inner solar system, especially
when the vast majority of them are likely heading towards the Sun.

* * * * Yousuf Khan

Are Earth's Oceans Made Of Extraterrestrial Material?
"According to books, the ocean and the atmosphere were formed from
volcanic gases and the Earth's interior is the source of volatile
elements. However, the rocks of the Earth's mantle are deficient in
water (geochemists estimate its concentration at two hundredth percent).
The same is true on Earth's sister planets, Venus and Mars. The main
reason proposed by Albarède is that, during the formation of the Solar
System, the temperature never dropped sufficiently between the Sun and
the orbit of Jupiter for volatile elements to be able to condense with
planetary material. The arrival of water on Earth therefore corresponds
to a late episode of planetary accretion."http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091111110045.htm

Earth's atmosphere came from outer space, scientists find
""We found a clear meteorite signature in volcanic gases," said Dr Greg
Holland the project's lead scientist.

"From that we now know that the volcanic gases could not have
contributed in any significant way to the Earth's atmosphere."http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/12/091210153538.htm

An icy Selene, of say 8e22 kg (possibly 8.5e22 kg), could have easily
contributed quite a bit of its original icy contents upon
lithobraking, into becoming a naked satellite of Earth.

~ BG

BradGuth wrote:
An icy Selene, of say 8e22 kg (possibly 8.5e22 kg), could have easily
contributed quite a bit of its original icy contents upon
lithobraking, into becoming a naked satellite of Earth.


Oh, you mean like a car hitting the brakes, and a passenger breaking
through the window taking all that glass with him/her?

Yousuf Khan

On Dec 13, 5:04*am, Yousuf Khan wrote:
BradGuth wrote:
An icy Selene, of say 8e22 kg (possibly 8.5e22 kg), could have easily
contributed quite a bit of its original icy contents upon
lithobraking, into becoming a naked satellite of Earth.

Oh, you mean like a car hitting the brakes, and a passenger breaking
through the window taking all that glass with him/her?

* * * * Yousuf Khan

Lithobraking is one icy orb encountering another at a slow enough
velocity so that each orb manages to survive.

Gravity/tidal actions do the rest of pulling ice away from Selene.

~ BG

Dear Yousuf Khan:

On Dec 12, 2:55*pm, Yousuf Khan wrote:
Two separate studies are claiming that Earth's two
most prominent surface fluids, air and water, came
not from within but from outer space.

Well, the contents of the Earth came from outer space. These
materials did not come from our Sun.

I have my doubts about these studies' conclusions,
it seems like a stretch that there could be enough
air and water brought from meteors that are being
randomly hurled toward the inner solar system,
especially when the vast majority of them are likely
heading towards the Sun.

Planets are the vacuum cleaners of space. The Sun is constantly
venting materials that can supply hydrogen for water production, and
the "missing mass" in intergalactic space was hydrogen and lots of
oxygen.

David A. Smith