ScienceDaily (Mar. 5, 2012) — Investigating the history of water on Earth is critical to understanding the planet’s climate. One central question is whether Earth has always had the same amount of water on and surrounding it, the same so-called “water budget.” Has Earth gained or lost water from comets and meteorites? Has water been lost into space? New research into Earth’s primordial oceans conducted by researchers at the Natural History Museum of Denmark at the University of Copenhagen and Stanford University revisits Earth’s historical water budget.
The results have just been published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Water accounts for about ½ of a thousandth of Earth’s total mass, despite the fact that roughly 70% of the planet’s surface is covered by this substance so vital to survival. Indeed, water is a relatively “rare substance” on our “Blue Planet.”
Read the full article at http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/03/120305160652.htm