Material from outside the solar system was the primary source of volatiles

Aug. 4 () –

A study on the zinc isotope composition of meteorites suggests that material from the outer solar system was a major source of volatiles during Earth’s formation.

The question of the origin of the volatile elements present on Earth is fundamental to understanding the evolution of our planet. The new study led by the University of Saint Andrews shows, for the first time, that there is a difference between the zinc isotope composition of meteorites that formed in the inner solar system and those that formed in the outer solar system.

Dr. Paul Savage, Senior Lecturer in the College of Earth and Environmental Sciences, explains it’s a statement: “This is important because zinc is a moderately volatile element and, to date, the most volatile element for which unique isotopic signatures have been detected in meteorites. If we compare these meteorite compositions with the zinc isotope composition of the Earth, we see that the Earth falls between the two groups, and therefore the Earth’s zinc inventory is a mix of material from the inner and outer solar system.This suggests that both reservoirs are important sources of the element inventory. Earth’s volatiles.

The findings imply that the Earth must have accumulated five to six percent of its global mass from material supposedly from the outer solar system, the part of the solar system beyond the “snow line”, where the giant planets are dominated by gases and volatiles.

Savage said: “Meteorites, as well as being fascinating and beautiful extraterrestrial objects, are important scientific specimens because their chemistry reflects the earliest solids that formed in our solar system. We can use the compositions of meteorites to inform us about the processes and scales of time of planet formation, as well as giving us information about the types and sources of materials that accumulated to form our own planet.

“A particularly crucial question is where did Earth get its volatile elements? These are the types of elements that are crucial for life: Did Earth get all of its volatile elements from the outer solar system, where today’s gas giant planets orbit?” and ice? Or is the hotter, drier inner solar system still a major source?”

The study shows that although only a small proportion of Earth’s total mass may come from the outer solar system, this material must be enriched with volatiles, providing about a third of Earth’s total zinc budget. Elements more volatile than zinc were likely to be even more enriched in this material from the outer solar system. and thus this deposit was an even more important source for the Earth’s inventory of volatile elements.

“Studies like ours add new insights into how and from where planets accumulate the kinds of elements that are crucial to supporting life, but more broadly, they give us more clues about how our early solar system behaved. We can apply these findings to understand how other planetary systems behave and whether the newly discovered exoplanets might have the kind of elements that can also support life.”

In the future, this isotope system can be applied to other solar system bodies that we have samples of, such as the moon and Mars, to impose more restrictions on the transport and delivery of moderately volatile elements in the solar system. Additionally, these isotope variations can be used to determine the types of stellar environments that generated these elements and injected them into the presolar nebula.