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Evolution of an impact-induced atmosphere and magma ocean on the accreting Earth

Nature volume 319, pages 303–305 (1986)Cite this article

Abstract

Early rapid formation of the atmosphere and hydrosphere on the terrestrial planets has recently been proposed1,2. Here we present a quantitative study of this process during accretion by planetesimal impacts. These impacts increase the surface temperature and thus affect the formation of either a proto-atmosphere or a proto-hydrosphere by degassing of volatiles. We show that an impact-induced H2O atmosphere increases the surface temperature of the Earth to a stage where a magma ocean is possible, with the total amount of H2O in the proto-atmosphere clustering around 1021 kg, this number is rather insensitive to variations in the input data. We suggest that the apparent coincidence of the H2O abundance in the proto-atmosphere with the present mass (˜1.4 × 1021 kg) of the ocean is evidence for an impact origin for the atmosphere and hydrosphere.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Geophysical Institute, Faculty of Science, University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113, Japan

    Takafumi Matsui & Yutaka Abe

Authors
  1. Takafumi Matsui
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  2. Yutaka Abe
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Matsui, T., Abe, Y. Evolution of an impact-induced atmosphere and magma ocean on the accreting Earth. Nature 319, 303–305 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1038/319303a0

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