Quick Search:    advanced search

GSW Home   GeoRef Home   My GSW Alerts   Contact GSW   About GSW   Journals List   Help

This Article Figures Only Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Zahnle, K. J. Search for Related Content GeoRef GeoRef Citation

Earth's Earliest Atmosphere

¹ NASA Ames Research Center
Moffett Field CA 94035-1000, USA
E-mail: Kevin.J.Zahnle{at}nasa.gov

The aftermath of the Moon-forming impact left Earth with a hot, CO₂-rich steam atmosphere. Water oceans condensed from the steam after 2 Myr, but for some 10-100 Myr the surface stayed warm (500K), the length of time depending on how quickly the CO₂ was removed into the mantle. Thereafter a lifeless Earth, heated only by the dim light of the young Sun, would have evolved into a bitterly cold ice world. The cooling trend was frequently interrupted by volcanic- or impact-induced thaws.

KEYWORDS: Hadean Earth, Moon-forming impact, origin, evolution of the atmosphere, zircon

This article has been cited by other articles:

				J. W. Valley The Origin of Habitats Geology, November 1, 2008; 36(11): 911 - 912. [Full Text] [PDF]