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Origin of Water On Earth: Hypotheses: Change Change Source

The origin of water on Earth is still debated by scientists. While it is found throughout the universe, Earth has an unusually large amount of water. Early theories proposed that water was delivered later in Earth's history by icy asteroids from the outer solar system. However, more recent evidence suggests hydrogen inside Earth may have played a role in forming the oceans and water was delivered by impacts from icy planetesimals throughout Earth's history. Water exists on Earth in all three physical states - as a gas in the atmosphere, as a liquid covering much of the planet's surface and in oceans, and as ice at the poles and in some other celestial bodies in the solar system.

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59 views3 pages

Origin of Water On Earth: Hypotheses: Change Change Source

The origin of water on Earth is still debated by scientists. While it is found throughout the universe, Earth has an unusually large amount of water. Early theories proposed that water was delivered later in Earth's history by icy asteroids from the outer solar system. However, more recent evidence suggests hydrogen inside Earth may have played a role in forming the oceans and water was delivered by impacts from icy planetesimals throughout Earth's history. Water exists on Earth in all three physical states - as a gas in the atmosphere, as a liquid covering much of the planet's surface and in oceans, and as ice at the poles and in some other celestial bodies in the solar system.

Uploaded by

kate trisha
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Origin of water on Earth: hypotheses[change 

| change source]
We do not know exactly how the Earth came to have so much water. It is everywhere in the Universe, but rarely in such
quantity. Reasoning from first principles, every element except hydrogen has been formed in stars. Therefore oxygen was
originally formed in stars. The formation of water is not a problem: it is exothermic, so forming the molecule from its atoms
does not need outside energy. But to explain how the Earth has so much in comparison with, for example, Mars, is not easy.
It is an undecided problem in planetary geology.
It was long thought that Earth’s water did not come from the planet’s region of the protoplanetary disk. Instead, it was
thought that water and other volatiles must have been delivered to Earth from the outer Solar System later in its history. But
hydrogen inside the Earth did play some role in the formation of the ocean.[32] The two ideas may each be partly right. Water
was delivered to Earth by impacts from icy planetesimals (asteroids) in the outer edges of the asteroid belt.[33] How much is
not known.

Water vapor[change | change source]


Water vapor is found in:

 Atmosphere of the Sun: It has small amounts of water.[34]


 Atmosphere of Mercury: It is composed of 3.4% of water. Mercury has large amounts of water in its exosphere.[35]
 Atmosphere of Venus: It is composed of 0.002% of water.[36]
 Atmosphere of Earth: It is composed of 0.4% of water all over the atmosphere. There is usually around 1–4% of
water at the surface of the Earth. Water vapor is also found in the extremely thin atmosphere of the Moon in small
amounts.[37]
 Atmosphere of Mars: It is composed of 0.03% of water.[38]
 Atmosphere of Ceres.[39]
 Atmosphere of Jupiter: It is composed of 0.0004% ice.[40] There is also water in its moon Europa.[41]
 Atmosphere of Saturn: It is has water in the form of ice. Enceladus is composed of 91% of ice and ice is also
in Dione's exosphere.[42]
 Atmosphere of Uranus: Ice is found in small amounts.
 Atmosphere of Neptune: Ice is also found deep in the atmosphere of Neptune.[43]
 The atmosphere of extrasolar planets such as HD 189733 b and HD 209458 b, Tau Boötis b, HAT-P-11b, XO-
1b, WASP-12b, WASP-17b, and WASP-19b.[44][45][46][47]
 Stellar atmospheres: Water vapor is found in giant hot stars such as Betelgeuse, Mu
Cephei, Antares and Arcturus.[46]

Liquid water[change | change source]


Liquid water is found on Earth. It covers about 71% of the surface of the Earth. Liquid water is sometimes found in small
amounts on Mars. Scientists believe that liquid water is in Enceladus, Titan, Europa and Ganymede.[48][49][50][51][52]

Water ice[change | change source]


Water ice is found in:

South polar ice cap of Mars during Martian summer in the year 2000

 Mars: Water ice is found at the north and south poles of Mars.[53]


 Earth and the Moon: It is mainly found as ice sheets on Earth and in craters and volcanic rocks in the Moon.[54]
 Ceres[55][56][57]
 Jupiter's moons: It is found on Europa, Ganymede and Callisto.[58][59][60]
 Saturn: It is found in the planetary rings of Saturn. It is also found in Titan and Enceladus.[61][62][63]
 Pluto and Charon[61]
 Comets and other objects in the Kuiper belt and Oort cloud.[64]

Community water systems obtain water from two sources: surface water and ground water. People use
surface and ground water every day for a variety of purposes, including drinking, cooking, and basic
hygiene, in addition to recreational, agricultural, and industrial activities. According to the United States
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the majority of public water systems (91%) are supplied by
ground water; however, more persons (68%) are supplied year-round by community water systems that
use surface water  . This is because large, well-populated metropolitan areas tend to rely on surface water
(1)

supplies, whereas small, rural areas tend to rely on ground water.

Figure courtesy of USGS


Surface Water
Surface water is water that collects on the ground or in a stream, river, lake, reservoir, or ocean. Surface
water is constantly replenished through precipitation, and lost through evaporation and seepage into
ground water supplies. According to the EPA, 68% of community water system users received their water
from a surface water source, such as a lake  .
(1)

United States Geological Survey (USGS) resources on surface water:

 Surface Water TopicsExternal


 USGS Water Watch (map of real-time stream flow and historical trends for your area) External

Ground Water
Ground water, which is obtained by drilling wells, is water located below the ground surface in pores and
spaces in the rock, and is used by approximately 78% of community water systems in the United States,
supplying drinking water to 32% of community water system users  . EPA also estimates that
(1)

approximately 15% of the U.S. population relies on private ground water wells  . (2)

USGS resources on ground water:

 Earth’s Water: Ground WaterExternal

Source Water Protection


Even though most community drinking water (especially from surface water sources) is treated before
entering the home, the cost of this treatment and the risks to public health can be reduced by protecting
source water from contamination. We all live in a watershed, which is an area that drains to a common
waterway such as a stream, lake, wetland, or ocean. EPA and many other organizations collaborate with
communities to work toward protecting watershedsExternal.

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