Earth shaped by primordial H2 atmospheres

Ferric iron stabilization at deep magma ocean conditions

Fe2O3 produced in a deep magma ocean in equilibrium with core-destined alloy sets the early redox budget and atmospheric composition of terrestrial planets. Previous experiments (≤28 gigapascals) and first-principles calculations indicate that a deep terrestrial magma ocean produces appreciable Fe3+ but predict Fe3+/ΣFe ratios that conflict by an order of magnitude. We present Fe3+/ΣFe of glasses quenched from melts equilibrated with Fe alloy at 38 to 71 gigapascals, 3600 to 4400 kelvin, analyzed by synchrotron Mössbauer spectroscopy. These indicate Fe3+/ΣFe of 0.056 to 0.112 in a terrestrial magma ocean with mean alloy-silicate equilibration pressures of 28 to 53 gigapascals, producing sufficient Fe2O3 to account for the modern bulk silicate Earth redox budget and surficial conditions near or more oxidizing than the iron-wüstite buffer, which would stabilize a primitive CO- and H2O-rich atmosphere.

The erosion of large primary atmospheres typically leaves behind substantial secondary atmospheres on temperate rocky planets

Exoplanet exploration has revealed that many-perhaps most-terrestrial exoplanets formed with substantial H2-rich envelopes, seemingly in contrast to solar system terrestrials, for which there is scant evidence of long-lived primary atmospheres. It is not known how a long-lived primary atmosphere might affect the subsequent habitability prospects of terrestrial exoplanets. Here, we present a new, self-consistent evolutionary model of the transition from primary to secondary atmospheres. The model incorporates all Fe-C-O-H-bearing species and simulates magma ocean solidification, radiative-convective climate, thermal escape, and mantle redox evolution. For our illustrative example TRAPPIST-1, our model strongly favors atmosphere retention for the habitable zone planet TRAPPIST-1e. In contrast, the same model predicts a comparatively thin atmosphere for the Venus-analog TRAPPIST-1b, which would be vulnerable to complete erosion via non-thermal escape and is consistent with JWST observations. More broadly, we conclude that the erosion of primary atmospheres typically does not preclude surface habitability, and frequently results in large surface water inventories due to the reduction of FeO by H2.

Self-Oxidation of the Atmospheres of Rocky Planets with Implications for the Origin of Life

Rocky planets may acquire a primordial atmosphere by the outgassing of volatiles from their magma ocean. The distribution of O between H2O, CO, and CO2 in chemical equilibrium subsequently changes significantly with decreasing temperature. We consider here two chemical models: one where CH4 and NH3 are assumed to be irrevocably destroyed by photolysis and second where these molecules persist. In the first case, we show that CO cannot coexist with H2O, since CO oxidizes at low temperatures to form CO2 and H2. In both cases, H escapes from the thermosphere within a few 10 million years by absorption of stellar XUV radiation. This escape drives an atmospheric self-oxidation process, whereby rocky planet atmospheres become dominated by CO2 and H2O regardless of their initial oxidation state at outgassing. HCN is considered a potential precursor of prebiotic compounds and RNA. Oxidizing atmospheres are inefficient at producing HCN by lightning. Alternatively, we have demonstrated that lightning-produced NO, which dissolves as nitrate in oceans, and interplanetary dust particles may be the main sources of fixed nitrogen in emerging biospheres. Our results highlight the need for origin-of-life scenarios where the first metabolism fixes its C from CO2, rather than from HCN and CO.

Early planetesimal differentiation and late accretion shaped Earth's nitrogen budget

The relative roles of protoplanetary differentiation versus late accretion in establishing Earth's life-essential volatile element inventory are being hotly debated. To address this issue, we employ first-principles calculations to investigate nitrogen (N) isotope fractionation during Earth's accretion and differentiation. We find that segregation of an iron core would enrich heavy N isotopes in the residual silicate, while evaporation within a H2-dominated nebular gas produces an enrichment of light N isotope in the planetesimals. The combined effect of early planetesimal evaporation followed by core formation enriches the bulk silicate Earth in light N isotopes. If Earth is comprised primarily of enstatite-chondrite-like material, as indicated by other isotope systems, then late accretion of carbonaceous-chondrite-like material must contribute ~ 30-100% of the N budget in present-day bulk silicate Earth. However, mass balance using N isotope constraints shows that the late veneer contributes only a limited amount of other volatile elements (e.g., H, S, and C) to Earth.

Stability of hydrides in sub-Neptune exoplanets with thick hydrogen-rich atmospheres

Many sub-Neptune exoplanets have been believed to be composed of a thick hydrogen-dominated atmosphere and a high-temperature heavier-element-dominant core. From an assumption that there is no chemical reaction between hydrogen and silicates/metals at the atmosphere-interior boundary, the cores of sub-Neptunes have been modeled with molten silicates and metals (magma) in previous studies. In large sub-Neptunes, pressure at the atmosphere-magma boundary can reach tens of gigapascals where hydrogen is a dense liquid. A recent experiment showed that hydrogen can induce the reduction of Fe[Formula: see text] in (Mg,Fe)O to Fe[Formula: see text] metal at the pressure-temperature conditions relevant to the atmosphere-interior boundary. However, it is unclear whether Mg, one of the abundant heavy elements in the planetary interiors, remains oxidized or can be reduced by H. Our experiments in the laser-heated diamond-anvil cell found that heating of MgO + Fe to 3,500 to 4,900 K (close to or above their melting temperatures) in an H medium leads to the formation of Mg[Formula: see text]FeH[Formula: see text] and H[Formula: see text]O at 8 to 13 GPa. At 26 to 29 GPa, the behavior of the system changes, and Mg-H in an H fluid and H[Formula: see text]O were detected with separate FeH[Formula: see text]. The observations indicate the dissociation of the Mg-O bond by H and subsequent production of hydride and water. Therefore, the atmosphere-magma interaction can lead to a fundamentally different mineralogy for sub-Neptune exoplanets compared with rocky planets. The change in the chemical reaction at the higher pressures can also affect the size demographics (i.e., "radius cliff") and the atmosphere chemistry of sub-Neptune exoplanets.

Oxidation of iron by giant impact and its implication on the formation of reduced atmosphere in the early Earth

Giant impact-driven redox processes in the atmosphere and magma ocean played crucial roles in the evolution of Earth. However, because of the absence of rock records from that time, understanding these processes has proven challenging. Here, we present experimental results that simulate the giant impact-driven reactions between iron and volatiles (H2O and CO2) using x-ray free electron laser (XFEL) as fast heat pump and structural probe. Under XFEL pump, iron is oxidized to wüstite (FeO), while volatiles are reduced to H2 and CO. Furthermore, iron oxidation proceeds into formation of hydrides (γ-FeHx) and siderite (FeCO3), implying redox boundary near 300-km depth. Through quantitative analysis on reaction products, we estimate the volatile and FeO budgets in bulk silicate Earth, supporting the Theia hypothesis. Our findings shed light on the fast and short-lived process that led to reduced atmosphere, required for the emergence of prebiotic organic molecules in the early Earth.

Chalcogen isotopes reveal limited volatile contribution from late veneer to Earth

The origin of Earth's volatile elements is highly debated. Comparing the chalcogen isotope ratios in the bulk silicate Earth (BSE) to those of its possible building blocks, chondritic meteorites, allows constraints on the origin of Earth's volatiles; however, these comparisons are complicated by potential isotopic fractionation during protoplanetary differentiation, which largely remains poorly understood. Using first-principles calculations, we find that core-mantle differentiation does not notably fractionate selenium and tellurium isotopes, while equilibrium evaporation from early planetesimals would enrich selenium and tellurium in heavy isotopes in the BSE. The sulfur, selenium, and tellurium isotopic signatures of the BSE reveal that protoplanetary differentiation plays a key role in establishing most of Earth's volatile elements, and a late veneer does not substantially contribute to the BSE's volatile inventory.