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Where did the Earth's oxygen come from? New study hints at an unexpected source

5 points| Rainbow16 | 3 years ago |phys.org

1 comment

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cratermoon|3 years ago

> While the exact mechanism is unclear, the occurrence of these magmas suggests that the process of subduction, where ocean water is taken hundreds of kilometers into our planet, generates free oxygen. This then oxidizes the overlying mantle.

I wonder what happens to the hydrogen, then? Perhaps this: "Here, we report results from laboratory experiments in which we reacted ground ultramafic and mafic rocks and minerals—specifically peridotite, pyroxene, olivine and magnetite—with anoxic fluids at 55 and 100 °C, and monitored hydrogen gas production." https://www.nature.com/articles/ngeo1825