Jakarta –
Scientists have found strong evidence that the Earth’s core may store enormous amounts of hydrogen, equivalent to 9 to 45 times the volume of the Earth’s entire surface ocean.
In findings published in the scientific journal Nature Communications, researchers simulated the extreme conditions during the formation of the Earth about 4.5 billion years ago. They used a diamond anvil cell to create high pressure and temperature, then analyzed how hydrogen can bond in iron alloys, the main material that makes up the Earth’s core.
Experimental results show the Earth’s core can contain up to 0.36% hydrogen by weight, an amount that when converted is equivalent to dozens of oceans. This finding provides important clues about the origins of water on Earth, which has long been debated whether it comes from comets or has existed since the planet was formed.
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The study’s lead author, Dongyang Huang, Assistant Professor at the School of Earth and Space Sciences, Peking University, said most of Earth’s water is likely stored deep in the planet’s deepest parts.
“The Earth’s core probably stored most of the water in the first million years of Earth’s history. The surface of the Earth – where life lives – actually only stores a small portion,” said Huang, quoted by CNN.
Another researcher who was not directly involved in this study, Rajdeep Dasgupta, Professor of Earth System Science at Rice University, explained that hydrogen can only enter the core if it has been available since the early phases of planet formation.
“Hydrogen can only enter the liquid metal that forms the core if the element was already present during the main growth phase of the Earth and was involved in the core formation process,” explained Dasgupta.
Scientists think this finding could change understanding of Earth’s early evolution and help explain how the planet was able to retain such large amounts of water that it eventually supported life.
(rns/rns)
date:2026-02-15 07:08:00