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Cambridge, Mass. (UPI) Nov 30, 2010 Earth's oceans were homegrown and not delivered by icy comets and asteroids as long contended, U.S. researchers say. Astronomers have long theorized that comets and asteroids delivered the water for the world's oceans during an epoch of heavy bombardment that ended about 3.9 billion years ago, but researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology contend the water came from the very rocks that formed the planet, AAAS ScienceMag.org reported Monday. Geologist Linda Elkins-Tanton says computer simulations show a large percentage of the water in the molten rock forming the early Earth would quickly form a steam atmosphere before cooling and condensing into an ocean. The process would take only tens of millions of years, suggesting oceans were flowing over the Earth by as early as 4.4 billion years ago, she says. Even the scant amount of water in the mantle would have produced oceans hundreds of meters deep, she reports in an article to be published in the journal Astrophysics and Space Science.
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Ancient Wind Held Secret Of Life And DeathLeicester UK (SPX) Nov 30, 2010 The mystery of how an abundance of fossils have been marvellously preserved for nearly half a billion years in a remote region of Africa has been solved by a team of geologists from the University of Leicester's Department of Geology. They have established that an ancient wind brought life to the region - and was then instrumental in the preservation of the dead. Sarah Gabbott, Jan Z ... read more |
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