Earth's ancient hydrogen, and fossilized vomit
Summary
Planetary scientist Dr. Anand Shahar discusses new simulations suggesting Earth’s core contains significant hydrogen, implying water may have formed during planet formation rather than arriving via comets. Later, paleontology PhD candidate Arnaud Rebillard describes the discovery of the oldest known fossilized vomit, or regurgitolite, in Germany. This 290-million-year-old find offers rare evidence of three ancient animals coexisting at the same time and place.
Topics discussed
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Introduction to Earth's core composition study
Simulating deep Earth conditions with diamonds
Hydrogen in the core and origins of Earth's water
Evidence from meteorites and hydrogen diffusion
Internal vs. external sources of planetary water
Implications for water on other rocky planets
Challenges in directly measuring core composition
Discovery of fossilized vomit (regurgitolite)
Insights into ancient animal coexistence
Differences between regurgitolites and coprolites
How fossilized vomit forms and is preserved
The evolving reputation of fossil excretions
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