Earth's Ancient Hydrogen, And Fossilized Vomit

A new simulation shows large amounts of hydrogen in our planet’s core. And, what scientists found in 290-million-year-old vomit.

A recent study simulated the extreme temperatures and pressure of the Earth’s interior by squeezing a sample between diamonds and heating it with a laser. In those simulations, researchers found that the Earth’s core may contain vast amounts of hydrogen, locked away in alloys with iron and silicon. Planetary scientist Anat Shahar joins Host Ira Flatow to discuss what this tells us about how the planet formed, and where water on Earth may have come from. 

Then, another kind of deep history: Paleontologist Arnaud Rebillard introduces Host Flora Lichtman to “regurgitalite”—fossilized vomit. Rebillard studied a sample of regurgitalite some 50 million years older than the dinosaurs.

Guests: 

Dr. Anat Shahar is a planetary scientist, and vice president for research at the Carnegie Institution for Science in Washington, D.C.

Arnaud Rebillard is a PhD candidate in paleontology at the Natural History Museum of Berlin.

Other episodes you may enjoy:

• Could Underground Hydrogen Reserves Put Clean Energy Within Reach?
• A Reptile’s Baffling Backfin And The Math Of Dashing Dinos

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The transcript for this episode is available at sciencefriday.com.

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