New data from meteorites suggests
that water was present early on
rather than being imported later

‘Blown out of the water’
New research indicating water existing in early Earth
leads to a paradigm shift in planetary science

by Dr. Sarah Buckland-Reynolds

“We were truly astonished”: These were the emotive words of lead planetary scientists, Paolo Sossi and Dan Bower of ETH Zurich, as reported in the popular science outlet, ScienceDaily, in a commentary published on September 16, 2026. The cause of astonishment was research results published earlier in the year from a work titled:

Homogeneous accretion of the Earth in the inner Solar System (Sossi and Bower, Nature Astronomy, 27 March  2026) Their research has overturned conventional assumptions in planetary science that were held for several decades.

Secular theories of Earth’s formation have leaned heavily on the idea that our planet was built from a mixture of inner and outer Solar System materials. This framework was especially important for explaining how Earth acquired volatile substances such as water. Yet Sossi and Bower (2026) utilized a novel methodology based heavily on experimental data and less on assumed mechanisms to conclude that earth’s composition is “entirely of material from the inner Solar System, distinct from any combination of existing meteorites.”

The implications of these findings are enormous, as it contradicts several foundational secular assumptions about how our planet formed. In particular, it suggests that Earth is not simply a collage of known meteorite types. Its identity cannot be simply reconstructed by mixing known meteorite compositions. Sossi and Bower’s research also points to a greater level of stability of the early universe than was once thought and indicates that water on earth was not ‘seeded’ from far away. This article reflects on some of the implications of these findings, and how this new evidence increasingly aligns with aspects of the Biblical account in Genesis.

The Prevailing Secular Theories

Sossi and Bower’s article highlighted that, for decades, planetary scientists argued that 6–40% of Earth’s building material came from beyond Jupiter. This model also held that Earth originally was dry, and water only later migrated inward from the outer solar system. The conventional model was built on the assumption that volatile-rich carbonaceous meteorites would be the origin of the water, and that these were from materials not present in the inner solar system in earth’s vicinity. This “late veneer hypothesis” suggested that it was only after Earth’s core formed that outer Solar System material enriched it with volatiles and siderophile elements.

In challenging this conventional theory, Sossi and Bowen used a novel approach for their research, in their words using statistical calculations “rarely used in geochemistry.” Specifically, their research traced multiple isotopes beyond the conventional use of only oxygen isotopes, but incorporated the use of ten different isotopic systems, including but not limited to chromium and titanium isotopes. This method allowed them to distinguish between non-carbonaceous (inner Solar System) and carbonaceous (outer Solar System) meteorites.

More on the “Astonishing” Findings and the Biblical Parallels

Sossi and Bowen’s research highlights at least three distinct findings that appear to resonate well within the Biblical description of origins, namely:

1. The earth’s water was present early in its formation and not seeded later from a distance.
2. The earth formed from a coherent source, not multiple meteorites, unlike conventional views thought.
3. The inner and outer planets are more stable than once thought.

Here we elaborate further on these findings and how they point to increasing alignment with the Biblical narrative.

Water in Early Earth

One does not have to go far in reading the Bible to encounter its record on earth’s water. Immediately after the opening statement declaring how God created the heavens and the earth in the beginning, the Biblical account states:

“The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.” (Genesis 1:2).

Despite this clear Biblical description, secular planetary science taught the opposite story for decades. For much of the twentieth and early twenty-first century, the prevailing assumption was that the proto-Earth formed as a molten mass in the hot inner Solar System, where temperatures were too high for water and other volatiles to condense and remain stable. Therefore, conventionally, planetary scientists believed water had to be delivered hundreds of millions of years later by volatile-rich carbonaceous meteorites, as they theorized that, farther from the Sun, conditions were cooler, and that planetesimals forming beyond Jupiter could trap water in minerals and ice.

Planetesimals, in turn, would form carbonaceous chondrites, rich in hydrated minerals and organics that would eventually move inward and bombard the earth with their water-bearing rocks to deliver water. This was the cornerstone of how scientists explained Earth’s oceans. The tools used to support this initial theory were isotopic measurements, with special reliance on oxygen isotopes.

Despite this being the prevailing theory, Sossi and Bowen’s testing of twenty isotopes in meteorites led them to the following conclusion:

“…most volatile elements, such as water, must have already been present in the inner Solar System.” (ETH Zurich)

If water was already present on the early Earth, it calls into question whether Earth was molten when it formed! It is also curious that these findings, being based on more robust and direct measurements rather than assumptions, align more closely than conventional views with the Biblical teaching of waters present in early earth environments (albeit not an identical conclusion).

Nevertheless, the astonishment was noticeable as the researchers still built their research on the premise of long-age frameworks and could not account for the implications of water originating closer in proximity and time to the early earth, while still holding the idea of a hot molten early earth which would have easily evaporated water. In their own words, reported in the popular ScienceDaily commentary:

“The findings also raise a major new question. If Earth did not receive large amounts of water-rich material from the outer Solar System, scientists must explain how enough water could have existed in the hot inner Solar System to eventually produce Earth’s oceans.

Sossi and his team plan to investigate that question next. They also want to determine whether similar processes could occur in planetary systems around other stars.

“Until then, however, Dan and I will have to engage in many heated debates about the material composition of Earth and its neighboring planets, because the scientific discourse over the building blocks of Earth is far from over, despite the new findings,” says Sossi.”

Earth’s Coherence

A second interesting conclusion from Sossi and Bowen’s study was how coherent earth’s materials appear to be, based on this new multi-isotopic comparative evidence. This directly contradicts the narrative that conventional planetary science has painted Earth’s formation, being a story of chaotic mixing, with inner Solar System rocks colliding with volatile-rich material from beyond Jupiter. Challenging the conventional story, their research paper’s abstract stated that:

“The Earth therefore formed exclusively from inner Solar System material whose composition did not vary over the course of accretion and was, on average, unlike that of any chondrite.”

The emotive reactions to this conclusion were further evident in their commentary, where the coauthors stated that:

 “Our calculations make it clear: the building material of the Earth originates from a single material reservoir,” says Sossi. His colleague Bower adds: “We were truly astonished to find that the Earth is composed entirely of material from the inner Solar System distinct from any combination of existing meteorites.” [Bold added.]

This discovery overturns the notion that Earth’s identity can be reconstructed by mixing known meteorite compositions and shows that earth’s isotopic signature is unique. The finding also raises other challenges typical of planetary science, inching in closer alignment with the Biblical model of special creation.

For instance, if Earth did not arise from a collided mixture of asteroids and meteorites, then the assumption that other Earth-like planets could form that way is also weakened. This points to a structured, stable process of planet formation, rather than unguided accretion from diverse sources. It implies that earth’s habitability may have arisen in the context of stability of local reservoirs, not collisions by chance. This undermines arguments that life-supporting planets are simply the lucky outcome of chaotic mixing.

This precise stability knocks down one other argument against assumptions of unguided causes and raises new questions about the chemistry and stability of the early Solar System.

Jupiter: A More Effective, Stable Barrier than Previously Thought

A third major insight from the research of Paolo Sossi and Dan Bower lies in its process implications. Finding little (<2%) to no evidence of materials from outer planets in their isotopic analysis, it revealed far greater coherence among the inner planets than scientists had anticipated. This was surprising as the secular framework rested on the belief that Jupiter’s gravitational barrier was porous enough to allow significant material exchange due to a hypothesized depletion of the asteroid belt in the past.

The level of material coherence found by Sossi and Bowen, however, strongly suggests that Jupiter’s gravitational barrier separating the inner and outer Solar System was far more effective than previously assumed. In other words, Jupiter acted as a decisive wall, preventing volatile-rich material from the outer Solar System from contaminating the inner planetary reservoir.

This finding reverberates beyond our Solar System. For decades, exoplanetary science has leaned on the assumption that Earth-like planets could arise from colliding mixtures of asteroids and meteorites, with habitability emerging as a statistical accident of chaotic accretion. The ETH Zurich study challenges this narrative. If Earth itself did not form from unguided mixtures, but instead from a stable, structured reservoir of inner Solar System material, then the same principle may apply elsewhere.

The implication is profound: habitability may depend on whether a planetary system possesses stable reservoirs like ours, rather than on chance collisions. This precise stability undermines arguments that life-supporting worlds are simply products of unguided processes. Instead, it points to an ordered process of planetary formation, where coherence and structure, instead of chaos, are the foundation of habitability.

Blown out of the Water…

While Sossi and Bowen’s (2026) expressed deep astonishment about their results, their research adds to many other studies challenging secular consensus on several fronts. This reiterates the importance of reexamining assumptions to advance scientific discovery, even if it means questioning conventions that have been held for decades. This approach of minimizing assumptions appeared to have been deliberate on the part of the authors, as they stated:

 “Our calculations are very robust and rely solely on the data itself, not on physical assumptions, as these are not yet fully understood.”

Taken together, it appears that research built upon data with less assumptions show increased alignment with the Biblical worldview.

This case study provides insight that places sharp questions to challenge various assumptions in conventional planetary science. If Earth’s habitability arose in a context of stability, then the narrative of chance collisions producing life-supporting worlds is severely weakened. Instead, the evidence points toward order, coherence, and finely tuned processes.

Evidence against the late veneer hypothesis also brings planetary science into an era with greater alignment with Genesis’ account of water being the first environment over which God’s Spirit moved. Despite still embracing the theory of an initial hot molten earth, Sossi and Bowen’s research shows that increasingly, the Bible’s account is not contradicted by modern science when methods used are truly robust.

Dr. Sarah Buckland-Reynolds is a Christian, Jamaican, Environmental Science researcher, and journal associate editor. She holds the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Geography from the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona with high commendation, and a postgraduate specialization in Geomatics at the Universidad del Valle, Cali, Colombia. The quality of her research activity in Environmental Science has been recognized by various awards including the 2024 Editor’s Award from the American Meteorological Society for her reviewing service in the Weather, Climate and Society Journal, the 2023 L’Oreal/UNESCO Women in Science Caribbean Award, the 2023 ICETEX International Experts Exchange Award for study in Colombia. and with her PhD research in drought management also being shortlisted in the top 10 globally for the 2023 Allianz Climate Risk Award by Munich Re Insurance, Germany. Motivated by her faith in God and zeal to positively influence society, Dr. Buckland-Reynolds is also the founder and Principal Director of Chosen to G.L.O.W. Ministries, a Jamaican charitable organization which seeks to amplify the Christian voice in the public sphere and equip more youths to know how to defend their faith.  

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