Meteorite strikes made life on Earth possible, study says

[Makuser]

There's been more discussion recently about protecting life on Earth from a devastating asteroid strike. But a new study suggests that space rocks actually made life possible on the Blue Planet. Researchers identified isotopes of selenium in rocks in Earth's mantle and found identical isotope signatures inside certain meteorites, notably those from the outer solar system."We show that selenium isotopes record a signature of late accretion after core formation and that this signature overlaps only with that of the CI-type carbonaceous chondrites," the study's abstract states. "We conclude that these isotopic constraints indicate the late veneer originated from the outer Solar System and was of lower mass than previously estimated. Thus, we suggest a late and highly concentrated delivery of volatiles enabled Earth to become habitable." The selenium isotopes were detected using a method that took samples from mantle rocks, previously brought to the surface from plate tectonic processes and measured.All of this means that selenium, as well as water and other building blocks for life, originated outside of Earth and came to the planet via comets or meteorites, a concept known as panspermia."According to our calculations, around 60 percent of the water on Earth today comes from this source. That is the only way oceans could eventually form," said the study's lead author, María Isabel Varas-Reus, Ph.D., in a statement. "This created the conditions for life on Earth to develop in its present form." You can read the complete article of this interesting study here, at:
https://www.foxnews.com/science/meteori ... e-on-earth