A primordial heavy water reservoir in the outer solar systemOPEN ACCESS 

· by · in , , , , , ,

Lindsay P. Keller, Christopher J. Snead, Ming-Chang Liu, and Kevin D. McKeegan

Science Advances
11 Nov 2026
Vol 12, Issue 46

LINK (OPEN ACCESS)
PDF (OPEN ACCESS)

“The oxygen (O) isotopic composition of outer solar system ices is believed to be enriched in heavy O isotopes owing to photochemical processes, but evidence for this O reservoir is exceedingly rare in meteorites. Hydrated interplanetary dust particles (IDPs) collected in Earth’s stratosphere that display high densities of solar energetic particle tracks originate from Edgeworth-Kuiper belt objects. Their mineralogy is dominated by hydrated minerals that formed by alteration of anhydrous precursor minerals at low temperatures through reactions with water (H2O)–carbon dioxide fluids. The O isotopic compositions of track-rich hydrated IDPs implicate 17,18O-rich ices as the source of H2O involved in their alteration, providing compelling evidence for the presence of a major heavy water reservoir beyond the orbits of the gas giant planets that was largely isolated from inner solar system materials.”

Related posts (automatically generated):

  1. Primordial water and dust of the Solar System: Insights from in-situ oxygen measurements of CI chondrites
  2. Triple oxygen and hydrogen stable isotope composition of hydroxyl water in Orgueil (CI-type) and Tagish Lake (C2-type) carbonaceous chondrites
  3. Origin and abundance of water in carbonaceous asteroids
  4. Accretion of water in carbonaceous chondrites: current evidence and implications for the delivery of water to early EarthOPEN ACCESS 
  5. Sulfur isotope study of sulfides in CI, CM, C2ung chondrites and volatile-rich clasts – evidence for different generations and reservoirs of sulfide formation
  6. Sulfuric acid as a corrosive cryofluid and oxygen isotope reservoir in planetesimals
  7. Temporally distributed parent body accretion in the C reservoir of the solar systemOPEN ACCESS 
  8. Primordial heavy noble gases in the pristine Paris carbonaceous chondriteOPEN ACCESS 
  9. Effects of aqueous alteration on primordial noble gases and presolar SiC in the carbonaceous chondrite Tagish Lake
  10. Different arrival times of CM and CI-like bodies from the outer Solar System in the asteroid beltOPEN ACCESS 
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,