Our oceans are not only responsible for the air we breathe and the vegetation we consume, the vast expanse of water found in our oceans is the very foundation of life on earth itself . Our “Blue Planet,” dubbed as such due to its abundance of water, has a surface which is 71% water. Our oceans, however, make up 96.5% of this water abundance. The remaining amount of the water on earth exists as water vapor, ice caps and glaciers, and in rivers, lakes, and our Earth’s soils as moisture. Water, too, exists in all life forms on Earth; the average human adult is comprised of 60% of water, demonstrating the vitality of a such a profusion of water.
Oceans, which are not only the foundations of all life forms on earth, are responsible for the stability of Earth’s climate and weather patterns. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) claims, “Warm ocean waters provide the energy to fuel storm systems that provide fresh water vital to all living things.”
Simply put, we need water; we are dependent on its resources and the processes that make it possible for our species to survive.
But where did it come from? Scientists have struggled with determining how in fact water, particularly oceans, arrived here on Earth some billions of years ago. Extensive research of not only the components of Earth, but of the components of our greater universe, has provided scientists with some answers to these questions.
Humans are walking galaxies. The water in our bodies is the same water that contributes to our thriving systems, but it did not always exist upon earth’s surface. In fact, much research has concluded that our 4.6-billion-year-old Earth was once nothing more than an interplanetary desert.
While the science behind the Big Bang and the evolution of the solar system can get rather complex, here’s the simple science behind planet Earth:
Earth was formed due to the collision of mineral-rich boulders approximately 4.6 billion years ago. At this time, water did not exist nor could it, considering the extreme heat that would vaporize any form of water that might enter into the sphere of the inner planets. The Big Bang is responsible for the transmutation of particles into a series of combined and recombined elements, producing hydrogen, the first key component of water (H2O.) Oxygen, which existed comfortably within the hot inner core of stars, was able to merge with hydrogen after being expelled into the universe during supernova (explosion of stars) occurrences.
With the two necessary tools at it’s dispense, the atmosphere created water molecules. The water existing on earth today, however, is believed to have been delivered to our surface long after the Earth formed. "Smithsonian Mag" concludes, “…Earth’s early history, including epochs with high ambient temperatures and no enveloping atmosphere, implies that surface water would have evaporated and drifted back into space.” So, again, how did oxygen and hydrogen, merged as one, reach Earth’s surface?
Comets and asteroids which are varying boulders of gravel floating throughout space, both contain ice. Scientists conclude that, “…Earth’s aquatic starter kit” was in fact, “…locked away inside several meteorites, chunks of rock that fell to the planet’s surface.” Scientists’ next task was to determine whether or not asteroids or comets delivered earth’s water. What are we in fact products of? Scientists have tilted their scales and directed their attention towards asteroids, which have hydrogen components that are an apparent chemical match to the hydrogen atoms here on Earth.
The very water that exists in asteroids in the solar system is present in our bodies; we are remnants of an everlasting universe.
