A USTC-led study reveals that both early and late stages of planetary evolution are key to understanding nitrogen abundance in Earth’s silicate, offering new perspectives on the origin of Earth’s volatiles. Credit: SciTechDaily.com
As nitrogen is one of the fundamental building blocks of life on Earth, a thorough examination of its accretionary and evolutionary history holds immense significance in comprehending the origin of life-related elements and the evolution of habitability on our planet.Researchers employed first-principles calculation methods to delve into the fractionation mechanism of nitrogen isotopes during the condensation of nebula materials into planetary embryos.
By combining first-principles calculations and observational data, researchers found that the evolution of early planetary embryos alone cannot fully explain the nitrogen isotope composition of the silicate Earth. It is necessary to consider the late-stage addition of volatile-rich materials . The nitrogen abundance of the silicate Earth is a result of both early evolution and late-stage accretion, but the contribution of late-stage accretion to the abundance of other volatiles is limited.