# Where did the oceans come from? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 7, 2017, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-oceans-come-from/793017 "2017-08-07T17:08:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2017, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-oceans-come-from/793017/21 "2017-08-09T23:15:48Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > … > Most of the nebula ended up either in the Sun, or blown out of the solar system by the energy of the newly formed Sun. Some bits of it remained though. And those bits formed the various planets, moons, comets, and dwarf planets. > … Great post overall. Agree completely you’ve hit \*the \*big idea. Ref the snip above I couldn’t resist … Remember folks, 100% of what you see in our solar system, from ginormous distant Jupiter to a tiny baby’s hand, is nothing but the leftover sludge of solar system formation. Carry on. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2017, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-oceans-come-from/793017/22 "2017-08-10T00:04:14Z")
The Book of Genesis states God did it. (and it was good, oooooh sooooo goooood) ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2017, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-oceans-come-from/793017/23 "2017-08-10T00:08:46Z")
Well, according to Genesis 7:21, the Flood wasn’t all that good. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2017, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-oceans-come-from/793017/24 "2017-08-10T00:24:17Z")
> [@markn\_1](#): > > Well, according to Genesis 7:21, the Flood wasn’t all that good. the morning after? ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2017, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-oceans-come-from/793017/25 "2017-08-10T00:26:42Z")
> [@markn\_1](#): > > Well, according to Genesis 7:21, the Flood wasn’t all that good. It’s all cool, in 9:13-15, God said, “Sorry about that Flood stuff, I’m inventing rainbows for you all, enjoy.” ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2017, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-oceans-come-from/793017/26 "2017-08-10T12:37:00Z")
May God help me in my ignorance. I swear that the first thought that occurred to me on seeing the OP’s question was “Rain”. It took around 10 seconds for me to realize the idiocy of that thought. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![watchwolf49](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9c0ed/32.png) [@watchwolf49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watchwolf49)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2017, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-oceans-come-from/793017/28 "2017-08-10T14:23:48Z")
> [@markn\_1](#): > > Well, according to Genesis 7:21, the Flood wasn’t all that good. The flood was a good thing, and great thing even, killing all the evil peoples so humans never again would have to deal with the likes of Donald Trump … Ha, ha, just joking … But there is a certain simplicity to the idea that God created the oceans … and moose … so we can all say to God “My, what a wonderful world” ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2017, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-oceans-come-from/793017/29 "2017-08-10T20:25:58Z")
**Moderator Note** > [@watchwolf49](#): > > The flood was a good thing, and great thing even, killing all the evil peoples so humans never again would have to deal with the likes of Donald Trump … While we allow a certain amount of joking around, etc. after the question has been factually addressed in GQ, we do not allow political pot-shots in this forum. Keep the political pot-shots out of GQ. ---
**Author:** ![watchwolf49](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9c0ed/32.png) [@watchwolf49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watchwolf49)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2017, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-oceans-come-from/793017/30 "2017-08-10T21:17:03Z")
> [@engineer\_comp\_geek](#): > > **Moderator Note** > > While we allow a certain amount of joking around, etc. after the question has been factually addressed in GQ, we do not allow political pot-shots in this forum. Keep the political pot-shots out of GQ. My apologies … that rule is well known to me … sorry to have caused you, and the other posters, any grief … ---
**Author:** ![Blue\_Blistering\_Barnacle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blue_blistering_barnacle/32/3386_2.png) [@Blue\_Blistering\_Barnacle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blue_Blistering_Barnacle)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2017, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-oceans-come-from/793017/31 "2017-08-10T21:26:58Z")
There is also the “Snowballs from Space” Theory of Louis Frank, which states that the Earth is being constantly bombarded with 20-40-ton mini-comets (or “snowballs”). [http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1997-05-29/news/9705290201\_1\_earth-planet-snowballs](http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1997-05-29/news/9705290201_1_earth-planet-snowballs) > [@](#): > > Pictures from NASA’s Polar spacecraft, orbiting at more than 30,000 miles, clearly show objects streaking toward the Earth and ballooning into clouds 600 to 15,000 miles above the surface. > > Filters on the Polar cameras show the objects contain water, Frank said. He estimated that they are each 20- to 40-ton aggregates of ice speeding in from outer space at more than 20,000 miles an hour. They strike the Earth’s upper atmosphere and vaporize, adding new moisture to the planet’s water cycle. > > …snip… > > The snowball-like objects, not true comets, deliver enough moisture to Earth to cover the entire planetary surface with 1 inch of water every 10,000 to 20,000 years, he said. ---
**Author:** ![Blue\_Blistering\_Barnacle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blue_blistering_barnacle/32/3386_2.png) [@Blue\_Blistering\_Barnacle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blue_Blistering_Barnacle)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2017, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-oceans-come-from/793017/32 "2017-08-10T21:37:34Z")
BTW, internet estimates for the depth of the oceans (mono-ocean?) if the Earth was perfectly smooth are about 2.5-3 km. Here is one from the Straight Dope. [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=513922](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=513922) 3km is about 3.5 x 10^5 inches, which would take 3.5-7 billion years to accumulate by snowballs alone by current rate estimate provided by Frank. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2017, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-oceans-come-from/793017/33 "2017-08-10T22:24:16Z")
> [@Blue\_Blistering\_Barnacle](#): > > 3km is about 3.5 x 10^5 inches, which would take 3.5-7 billion years to accumulate by snowballs alone by current rate estimate provided by Frank. By my calculations, 3 km is 118,100 inches. That would take 1-2 billion years to accumulate by Frank’s estimate. ---
**Author:** ![Blue\_Blistering\_Barnacle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blue_blistering_barnacle/32/3386_2.png) [@Blue\_Blistering\_Barnacle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blue_Blistering_Barnacle)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2017, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-oceans-come-from/793017/34 "2017-08-11T00:31:04Z")
> [@markn\_1](#): > > By my calculations, 3 km is 118,100 inches. That would take 1-2 billion years to accumulate by Frank’s estimate. Ummm, yes. Not sure which buttons on my calculator were mis-pressed to give me my figures. I wonder where all the extra water goes? It surely can’t all be turned to organics, can it?Split to hydrogen and oxygen, with hydrogen gas floating away? Maybe it falls off the edge of the world. [![](http://www.progarchives.com/progressive_rock_discography_covers/630/cover_575213862016_r.jpg) ](http://www.progarchives.com/progressive_rock_discography_covers/630/cover_575213862016_r.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![rat\_avatar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rat_avatar/32/255_2.png) [@rat\_avatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rat_avatar)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2017, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-oceans-come-from/793017/35 "2017-08-11T00:51:46Z")
Some random (and bad due to formating limits) formulas for random “rocks” Gypsum: CaSO4 -2(H2O) Calsite: CaCO3 Hematite: CaCO3 Dolomite: CaMg(CO3)2 If you look at the composition of the sun, which has more than 99% of the mass of the solar system in the following link, water is almost inevitable. [http://astronomy.swin.edu.au/cosmos/C/Chemical+Composition](http://astronomy.swin.edu.au/cosmos/C/Chemical+Composition) ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2017, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-oceans-come-from/793017/36 "2017-08-11T01:08:44Z")
> [@Blue\_Blistering\_Barnacle](#): > > I wonder where all the extra water goes? Well, the question presumes that Frank’s theory is correct. As far as I know, it’s not accepted by most scientists. [Arizona scientists highly skeptical of small comet theory](https://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/1997/ast09dec97_2) > [@](#): > > In five independent studies to be published Dec. 15 [1997], scientists including three teams from The University of Arizona conclude that theoretical calculations and observational evidence rule out the small-comet hypothesis. > > If the small-comet theory were correct, the Earth’s sky would be a continual display of bright clouds and flashes, according to calculations by Bashar Rizk and Alex J. Dessler of the UA Lunar and Planetary Laboratory. If 30,000 small comets bombard Earth daily, as the theory says, constant meteor-like displays would be visible even during the day. > [@](#): > > University of Washington geophysicist George Parks has analyzed Frank’s ultraviolet (UV) camera images and has concluded that the white snow in space is no more than black “snow” on the television screen. > > After a close analysis of one hour of data supplied by Frank, Parks says he and his collaborators are certain that Frank has been looking at “instrument noise.” ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2017, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-oceans-come-from/793017/37 "2017-08-11T12:25:41Z")
> [@Blue\_Blistering\_Barnacle](#): > > … > I wonder where all the extra water goes? It surely can’t all be turned to organics, can it?Split to hydrogen and oxygen, with hydrogen gas floating away? > > Maybe it falls off the edge of the world. > [http://www.progarchives.com/progressive\_rock\_discography\_covers/630/cover\_575213862016\_r.jpg](http://www.progarchives.com/progressive_rock_discography_covers/630/cover_575213862016_r.jpg) Assuming Frank’s … unconventional … idea is true, an inch of influx every 10-20K years would be easy to not notice. Because there is some non-zero outflux as well and the only thing we could detect by historical sea levels, ice cores, etc., is the net of the two fluxes. ---
**Author:** ![watchwolf49](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9c0ed/32.png) [@watchwolf49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watchwolf49)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2017, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-oceans-come-from/793017/38 "2017-08-11T14:15:55Z")
One point in Louis Frank’s favor is that we’re here assuming these icy comets impacted the Earth at a constant rate … all these comets could have come in over a fairly short period of time (I’m looking at you, Late Heavy Bombardment, don’t be trying to hide behind mama) … However, we still need a mechanism the prevents these icy comets from being part of the original material of the proto-Earth … if there are enough icy comets to bring water in, then a goodly chunk of them would have here all along … ---
**Author:** ![MostlyCarbon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/848f3c/32.png) [@MostlyCarbon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MostlyCarbon)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2017, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-oceans-come-from/793017/39 "2017-08-11T15:28:02Z")
One of the latest theories is that, at some point early on, Jupiter’s orbit brought it closer to the sun and a lot of water was brought with it when Earth was still forming. This from the episode of How the Universe Works titled _The First Oceans_. In the same episode they stated that after analyzing samples of water from comets (Rosetta mission?) and asteroids it was found the water in them didn’t match the water found on Earth. As I recall, the difference was the number of neutrons/protons - e.g. heavy water. Plus, as pointed out in previous posts here, the number of comets needed to bring all that water to Earth was beyond likelyhood. Sorry I don’t recall the details - I’m old. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2017, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-oceans-come-from/793017/40 "2017-08-11T16:18:26Z")
> [@watchwolf49](#): > > One point in Louis Frank’s favor is that we’re here assuming these icy comets impacted the Earth at a constant rate … all these comets could have come in over a fairly short period of time (I’m looking at you, Late Heavy Bombardment, don’t be trying to hide behind mama) … But that’s not Frank’s theory. He’s not claiming that water came from comets early in the earth’s history, which is a rather well accepted theory (or was, until the recent results that **MostlyCarbon** alludes to). Frank’s theory is that the mini-comets are continuing to impact the earth today, every day, and he claimed that data from the Polar satellite confirms this. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-oceans-come-from/793017.md?page=1)