Earth Is Making Its Own Water From Scratch

The Wired Word for the Week of February 12, 2017

In the News

Earth is making its own water -- from scratch -- deep inside its mantle.

That's the conclusion of a new study from researchers at the University College Dublin, the University of Saskatchewan and the State Laboratory for Superhard Materials in China after using computer simulations to study the reactions between liquid hydrogen and silicon dioxide (in the form of quartz), materials known to be present deep within Earth's mantle.

The mantle is the mostly solid bulk of Earth's interior that lies between our planet's dense, superheated core and its thin outer layer, the crust. The mantle is about 1,802 miles thick, and makes up about 84 percent of Earth's total volume.

Until this study, there were two leading planetary science theories for the origin of water on Earth. The extra-planetary hypothesis holds that water came from external sources such as asteroids and comets. The native water hypothesis posits that water was carried in with the material from which the earth formed, mainly from adsorption of water molecules from the protosolar nebula. The new study presents evidence of "an additional native source for the origin and evolution of water on Earth." (The research paper abstract and how to order a copy can be found at the first link below.)

The study tested the reaction under different temperatures and pressures like those of the upper mantle 25 to 250 miles beneath the crust. The researchers found that at pressures 20,000 times greater than atmospheric pressure and at temperatures of about 2600 degrees F, the reaction between liquid hydrogen and silicon dioxide forms layers of water and of partially oxidized silicon. The over-pressured water from the silica-hydrogen reaction may be a possible trigger for deep earthquakes in the continental mantle lithosphere.

Earlier studies have discovered evidence of "several oceans' worth of water" in rocks as far down into Earth as 620 miles. What's new in this study is the possibility that the water may have gotten there not from space, but from within our planet itself.

More on this story can be found at these links:

Formation and Properties of Water From Quartz and Hydrogen at High Pressure and Temperature. Earth and Planetary Science Letters
Planet Earth Makes Its Own Water From Scratch Deep in the Mantle. New ScientistEarth's Water May Have Originated From Within the Planet's Mantle Not From Space. Tech Times
Mantle. National Geographic Society

Applying the News Story

This news pushes us to think about the creation of the world and God the Creator, as well as the concepts of nihilism and chaos, both of which are active, destructive forces in our world today. But Genesis tells us that in creating the world, God overrode those forces. We will explain that more in the Genesis 1 commentary below, but it's good to remind ourselves now that the gospel message points us to a time when chaos and nihilism are no more.

The Big Questions

1. In what ways was God's creation of the world a one-time thing? In what ways is it an ongoing event?

2. What are the implications for your life of God's creating activity continuing?

3. Where in the world today does chaos seem to have the upper hand? Where in your life does that seem to be so? How has God helped you deal with personal chaos?

4. Nihilism is a philosophy of nothingness, an extreme form of skepticism. The Latin root of nihilism also is seen in the word annihilate, to destroy completely. Nihilism takes many forms, some of which lead to despair and hopelessness. Other forms lead to violence and destruction. Where have you encountered this kind of thinking and how did it affect you?

5. What is the primary message of the creation story in Genesis 1:1--2:3?

Confronting the News With Scripture and HopeHere are some Bible verses to guide your discussion:

Genesis 1:1-2 (NIV)
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty .... (For context, read 1:1-13.)
Genesis 1:1-2 (NRSV)
In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void .... (For context, read 1:1-13.)

The first two verses of Genesis contain a riddle about how God went about his creative work. That's because the ancient Hebrew text can be translated in two ways.

Do you see the slight difference above between the NIV and the NRSV translations? The NIV says that God started with nothing, and the earth as he first created it was formless and empty. The NRSV says that when God set out to create the earth, a formless version of it was already there. God then brought order to the existing formless version. (The implication is that God had previously created the formless earth.)

Both translations are faithful to the Hebrew text. (The NRSV, in fact, gives the other possible reading in a footnote.)

Bible scholars even have names for these two different ways of speaking about God's creation of the earth. The first one, which assumes God started with nothing, is called creatio ex nihilo, a Latin term that means "creation out of nothing."

The other version of the creation, where God had previously created the formless earth, is sometimes called "ordering chaos."

Either way, Genesis assures us that this world and we ourselves exist because God willed it so. So regarding the two versions, you might say, "What does it matter? Either way, God is the Creator." And you'd be right. But each interpretation tells us something valuable about God for the sake of our lives and the future of our world.

The creation-out-of-nothing view conveys that God is stronger than the power of nothingness. Political nihilism, for example, is the belief that the destruction of all existing political, social and religious order is a prerequisite for any future improvement. Thus, although some terrorists may claim their actions are faithful to some form of religion or are intended to demoralize their enemies, at their root they are nihilistic. Their actions are not merely resistant but wholly destructive. Against all of that, we have a creation story that tells us God is more powerful than nihilism. He takes nothingness and makes great worlds of it.

The other creation interpretation -- bringing of order to chaos -- tells us that God is greater than the most chaotic circumstances of life, whether in our personal situation or in the complexities of the world. In fact, one sign of his "godness" is that he imposes order on the bedlam of godlessness.

One instrument of chaos is vandalism. Those who vandalize aren't seeking to improve anything or to contribute anything positive to the world. Often they are causing havoc in the lives of people they don't even know. And for what? Who knows? The nature of chaos is that it defies logic.

There is another whole meaning of chaos that is used in physics today. Called chaos theory, it posits that certain physical systems, such as the movement of air currents that affect weather, seem chaotic to the point that their behavior is unpredictable. Yet against all kinds of chaos, including the disarray in our own lives, the creation story tells us that God is the One who brings ultimate order and gives ultimate meaning to even that which seems nonsensical to us.

Questions: What does it mean to you that in the beginning of everything, there was God, greater than the nothingness that preceded creation, and greater than the chaos and unpredictability that seems so much a part of life on this planet?
Several times during the creation process, God declared the results "good" (1:4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25, 31). What does it mean when God says something was good? Was it perfect the way it was? Could it be improved? By us? By God?

Job 37:5
God thunders wondrously with his voice;
   he does great things that we cannot comprehend. (For context, read 37:1-13.)

The earth is making water from scratch? Wow! But then, the Bible gives us a context -- as in these words of Job, for example -- to not be surprised, while at the same time feeling awe.

TWW team member Mary Sells comments, "Should we be surprised that water is being created? It is as if our discovery of what God has already done makes it real and the longer we grasp a scientific understanding, the less important it becomes to us. For example, I know why the sun rises and sets, so I no longer find awe or beauty in it, only science? Yet -- are we capable of understanding God? Do we picture God sitting still while we, his creatures, continue to change?"

Questions: When, if ever, have you felt awe about creation? How does that feeling affect how you live your life?  Should understanding be our measure of God's worth -- what we think we can know of him and his works? Why or why not?
God's answer to Job doesn't directly address Job's changing state of mind, from despair to anger, to the recognition that he shares some measure of misfortune with all humanity. God's description of the glory of creation seems to suggest to all of us that there is something very big going on, and we need a change of perspective. When did a view of some natural wonder, or an aspect of the animal kingdom you had never noticed or known before change your attitude toward life and God?

Colossians 1:16-17
... for in [Christ] all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers -- all things have been created through him and for him. He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together. (For context, read 1:15-20.)

These words are unlike Paul's usual vocabulary, and Bible scholars think he is here quoting an early Christian hymn. Paul's point in using the hymn is that the work of Christ makes visible the things of God. The hymn also asserts that Christ existed before the world was created and was God's agent in creation (cf. John 1:1-3). Moreover, with the "in him all things hold together" lyric, the hymn asserts that Christ gives coherence and meaning to world.

Questions: In what ways has Christ given coherence and meaning to you and your life? How has Christ made his presence visible in the world around you? In the people around you?

Revelation 22:12-13See, I am coming soon; my reward is with me, to repay according to everyone's work. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end." (For context, read 22:1-14.)

The first verses of the Bible tell about God's intent at the beginning of this world. Here, among the last verses of the Bible we hear God's assertions about God's continuing intent at the end of this world.

The verses above are from Jesus, identifying himself by the divine title he shares with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit: the "Alpha and Omega." These are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, and they have the same meaning as the phrase, "the first and the last," which is used elsewhere in scripture as a name for God the Father. What this conveys is that in the new age, the distinction between Christ and God will not be important or even clear. They both are the one Deity.

The sense of Alpha and Omega is that God is the origin and conclusion of everything. It symbolizes God's sovereignty over the world and the completeness of his being, as in the modern phrase, "everything from A to Z." But it also symbolizes that the God who overcame nihilism and chaos at the beginning remains over them at the end. Alpha and Omega means that the God who was at the beginning is the same God who is at the end. Some individuals may have chosen a path that leads them to hell, but God is not giving up his world to hell. Nor does he give up one of us who follow him.

So in the midst of the nihilism and chaos of this age, do not despair or give up. Continue to work for the kingdom of God, and trust that the God who was there so powerfully at the beginning is the same God who be there powerfully -- and in charge -- at the end.

Questions: In what ways can you work for the kingdom of God today? When do you do so? Does the thought of a new heaven and a new earth inspire you to work with God's creation for the glory of God? If so, in what ways?

For Further Discussion

1. Respond to this, from TWW team member Frank Ramirez, commenting on the news about the earth creating its own water: "The assurance of the first creation story in Genesis (1:1-2:4a) is that creation is secure. This is in contrast to the old stories of Germanic, Greek and Mayan gods, where they were eventually overcome and chaos won. But in the Genesis story, there is no threat that chaos will re-emerge and eradicate order. God is in charge of everything, not fate or chance or chaos. 
            "So the earth creating its own water is an affirmation of the security of the system, but of course meteors destroy dinosaurs and we can self-eradicate ourselves through ecological irresponsibility or war. Ultimately the system will produce something else."

2. Discuss together Romans 8:18-21 as rendered by The Message: "... I don't think there's any comparison between the present hard times and the coming good times. The created world itself can hardly wait for what's coming next. Everything in creation is being more or less held back. God reins it in until both creation and all the creatures are ready and can be released at the same moment into the glorious times ahead. Meanwhile, the joyful anticipation deepens."

3. Respond to these comments from Mike Massimino's book Spaceman. Massimino was on two missions to repair the Hubble Space Telescope and got to see Earth from outside his spacecraft: "We might discover life in other solar systems someday, but for now there's nothing but chaos and blackness and desolation for billions of light-years in every direction. Yet here in the middle of all that is this magnificent place, this brilliant blue planet, teeming with life. It really is a paradise. It's fragile, it's beautiful. It's perfection. You have to stop and ask yourself: What in creation could possibly be better than this?
            "And my thought looking down at the Earth was Wow. How much God our Father must love us that he gave us this home. He didn't put us on Mars or Venus with nothing but rocks and frozen waste. He gave us paradise and said, 'Live here.' It's not easy to wrap your head around the origins and purpose of the universe, but that's the best way I can describe the feelings I had" (pp. 201-202).

Responding to the News

Want to bolster your awe? Read Job 37:1-13.

Prayer

Together we praise you, O Lord, from whom we have rain from the heavens and abundance from the earth. Blessed be your name, now and forever. Amen.