The Conversation: Earth May Have Had All the Elements Needed for Life Within It All Along − Contrary to Theories That These Elements Came from Meteorites

For many years, scientists have predicted that many of the elements that are crucial ingredients for life, like sulfur and nitrogen, first came to Earth when asteroid-type objects carrying them crashed into our planet’s surface.

But new research published by a team in Science Advances suggests that many of these elements, called volatiles, may have existed in the earth from the beginning, while it formed into a planet.

Associate Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences Shichun Huang joined Professor of Planetary Science Wenzhong Wang of the University of Science and Technology of China to share their research on the origins of Earth. Read more at The Conversation.

UT is a member of The Conversation, an independent source for news articles and informed analysis written by the academic community and edited by journalists for the general public. Through our partnership, we seek to provide a better understanding of the important work of our faculty.

–

Contact:

Cindi King (865-974-0937, cking126@utk.edu)