If the late veneer theory is right, then most elements that make up life arrived on Earth sometime after the Earth’s core had formed. But our new research suggests that Earth had all its life-essential volatile elements from the very beginning, during the planet’s formation.
New research suggests that Earth had all the volatile elements needed for life from the beginning of its formation. This challenges the late veneer theory, which states that many of the elements needed for life came from meteorites.
While many volatiles evaporated during Earth’s formation, many more are still left over today. This suggests that most of the volatiles on Earth now are likely left over from the early stage of Earth’s formation.
Some of the elements that are crucial ingredients for life include:
Sulfur, Nitrogen, Carbon, Hydrogen, Oxygen, Phosphorus, Sodium, Magnesium, Potassium, Calcium.
There are different theories about the origin of life on Earth because humans weren’t there to witness the beginning. Life likely began around 3 billion years ago, before continents existed.
Some theories about the origin of life include:
- Primordial soup theory: Lightning converted inorganic gases into organic matter like amino acids
- Spontaneous generation: Life came from non-cellular components like decaying matter
- Panspermia: Life came from outer space as spores
- Life began in ice: Life began in ice
- Life began in clay: Molecules of life met on clay
- Life began in deep-sea vents: Life began in deep-sea vents
- RNA world: Life began in the RNA world
- Oparin-Haldane: Life began in the Oparin-Haldane theory
Other theories about the origin of life include:
- It started with an electric spark
- Life had simple beginnings
- The answer lies in understanding DNA formation
According to new research, Earth had all the life-essential volatile elements from the beginning of its formation. This contradicts the widely held belief that these elements were delivered to Earth after the core’s formation.
The research challenges the late veneer theory and is consistent with another study tracing the origin of water on Earth. It also suggests that most of the volatiles on Earth today are likely left over from the early stage of Earth’s formation.
Some volatile elements include:
Rb, Cs, I, Sb, Cd, Xe, Kr.
Some volatile chemicals include:
- The six most common elements found in living organisms
- Water
The source of Earth’s water has been a long-standing debate. Some theories include:
- Comets, trans-Neptunian objects, or water-rich meteoroids colliding with Earth
- Hydrogen atoms carried on particles in the solar wind combining with oxygen on asteroids
The popular “late veneer” theory predicts that Earth first formed from materials that are low in volatiles. After the formation of the Earth’s core, the theory says, the planet got volatiles when volatile-rich bodies from the outer solar system hit the surface.
These objects brought around a half a percent of Earth’s mass. If the late veneer theory is right, then most elements that make up life arrived on Earth sometime after the Earth’s core had formed.
But our new research suggests that Earth had all its life-essential volatile elements from the very beginning, during the planet’s formation. These results challenge the late veneer theory and are consistent with another study tracing the origin of water on Earth
While chalcogens are interesting to study, future research should look at other critical-for-life volatiles, like nitrogen. And more research into how these volatiles behave under extreme conditions could help us know more about how isotopes were behaving during each of the growth stages of Earth’s formation.
The origin of Earth’s water has been a long-standing scientific debate. There are two main theories:
- Water evaporated When Earth formed 4.5 billion years ago, any water on the planet evaporated. When Earth cooled and solidified, comets and asteroids containing ice struck the planet for millions of years.
- Water trapped inside Earth Water was formed and trapped inside Earth when it formed 4.5 billion years ago. Surface water was added by comets and asteroids.
The most favored explanation is that Earth acquired water from water-rich objects, such as comets and asteroids. These objects made up a few percent of Earth’s building blocks.
Recent studies suggest that Earth’s water may have originated from the solar nebula.
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