Plate tectonics

Physics

Geology

Astronomy

Seafloor spreading

Geochemistry

Paleontology

Terrestrial planet

Early Earth

Earth science

Crust

Hadean

Tectonics

Planet

Mantle (geology)

Geophysics

Astrobiology

Nature

The Hadean eon, following the global-scale melting of the mantle1–3, is expected to be a dynamic period, during which Earth experienced vastly different conditions. Geologic records, however, suggest that the surface environment of Earth was already similar to the present by the middle of the Hadean4,5. Under what conditions a harsh surface environment could turn into a habitable one remains uncertain6. Here we show that a hydrated mantle with small-scale chemical heterogeneity, created as a result of magma ocean solidification, is the key to ocean formation, the onset of plate tectonics and the rapid removal of greenhouse gases, which are all essential to create a habitable environment on terrestrial planets. When the mantle is wet and dominated by high-magnesium pyroxenites, the removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere is expected to be more than ten times faster than the case of a pyrolitic homogeneous mantle and could be completed within&nbsp; 160 million years. Such a chemically heterogeneous mantle would also produce oceanic crust rich in olivine, which is reactive with ocean water and promotes serpentinization. Therefore, conditions similar to the Lost City hydrothermal field7–9 may have existed globally in the Hadean seafloor. A hydrated, heterogeneous mantle resulting from magma ocean solidification is shown to be key to the rapid formation of Earth’s habitable surface environment during the Hadean era.

A wet heterogeneous mantle creates a habitable world in the Hadean