Chinese scientists have revealed a mechanism explaining how Earth was able to retain vast reserves of water during the early stages of its formation, ultimately making the planet suitable for life. This was reported by the
Xinhua News Agency, a partner of TV BRICS.
Researchers from the Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry of the Chinese Academy of Sciences found through experiments that more than 4 billion years ago the deep layers of the mantle could have served as a huge reservoir for water.
The research team discovered that bridgmanite – the most abundant mineral in the mantle – has a powerful capacity to retain water depending on temperature. Previously, its ability to accumulate fluid was considered limited.
The scientists used a complex diamond anvil cell setup combined with laser heating to recreate the extreme conditions of the planet’s lower layers, with high pressure and temperatures reaching up to 4,100 degrees Celsius. As a result, it was found that the hotter the environment, the more effectively bridgmanite captures and retains water molecules during its formation from cooling magma.
Thanks to this process, the total amount of water preserved in the early solid mantle could have ranged from 0.08 to 1 volume of all modern oceans. This initial water reserve gradually returned to the surface through volcanic activity, contributing to the formation of a life-supporting planet.
In the BRICS countries, planetary scientists study both Earth and its “neighbours”. Researchers at the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences determined the content of water vapour in the lowest layers of Venus’s atmosphere at altitudes of up to 15 km. It ranged from 23.6 to 27.7 parts per million. Although its volume is small, it plays a major role in chemical processes, as it participates in the formation of Venusian clouds composed of sulphuric acid. Its study may become key to understanding both the internal structure of Venus and its evolution. This was reported in a publication on the institute’s
website.
A group of scientists from the United Arab Emirates University, Sun Yat-sen University in China, and the National Institute of Technology Rourkela in India studied how dust vortices, storms and extensive clouds of water ice can affect the atmosphere of Mars. Understanding these processes will help in preparing for manned missions, the
IANS, a partner of TV BRICS, reported.
This summer, Brazilian scientists conducted a study that revealed that asteroids orbiting along Venus’s path could collide with Earth in several thousand years. These are so-called co-orbital asteroids, which move along the same trajectory and within the same time frame as Venus around the Sun but, due to their position, often remain invisible to observers on Earth. This was reported by the newspaper
Correio Braziliense.
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