# Where did the oceans come from?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-oceans-come-from/679350>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [January 21, 2014, 8:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-oceans-come-from/679350 "2014-01-21T08:33:50Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 3

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![eburacum45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eburacum45/32/8690_2.png) [@eburacum45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eburacum45)\
**Post date:** [January 22, 2014, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-oceans-come-from/679350/41 "2014-01-22T08:26:24Z")

</div>

> [@jovan](#):
>
> In an incredible case of synchronicity, I read [this article](http://arstechnica.com/science/2014/01/water-water-everywherein-our-solar-system/) this morning.
> 
> Essentially, oxygen and hydrogen found in silicates, which are abundant throughout the solar system, can react with the solar winds which are rich in free protons (i.e. hydrogens). The silicates provide one oxygen and one hydrogen atom, and the solar wind the extra hydrogen. Water.

It also says

> [@](#):
>
> [t]his source of water, albeit new, won’t be able to account for a large proportion of water in the solar system. Most of that water was formed during the process of star formation that our sun went through.”

Most of the water appears to have formed in the solar nebula as the Sun was forming, before the formation of the Earth.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\
**Post date:** [January 22, 2014, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-oceans-come-from/679350/42 "2014-01-22T16:32:51Z")

</div>

> [@weemart](#):
>
> So the sodium chloride was already there b4 the water formed?

Pretty much, yes, though probably not in the form of sodium chloride itself.

Sodium and chlorine exist in many forms in the Earth. For example, magma contains both chlorine and sodium. I did some searching to see if I could find just how large the trace amounts are, but didn’t find a specific number. Even the lavas described as “high in sodium” are still 75% silicon dioxide. So while we’re talking about trace amounts, the sheer volume of magma in the Earth means that the amount of salt currently in the ocean could be replaced many times over given enough time.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\
**Post date:** [January 22, 2014, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-oceans-come-from/679350/43 "2014-01-22T16:45:15Z")

</div>

> [@jovan](#):
>
> In an incredible case of synchronicity, I read [this article](http://arstechnica.com/science/2014/01/water-water-everywherein-our-solar-system/) this morning…

SD Serendipity.[sup]TM[/sup]

[Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-oceans-come-from/679350.md?page=2)