Study Traces Earth's Core Carbon to Meteorites
Hawaiian lava analysis suggests carbon in the core may have arrived via carbonaceous chondrites during Earth's formation.
Updated on Nov. 10, 2026 in Geology
An international research team analyzed Hawaiian volcanic lavas and found carbon isotope signatures pointing to carbonaceous chondrites as a possible source of carbon now stored in Earth's core. The findings were published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Why it matters
About 80% of Earth's carbon is stored in the core, which is roughly 2900 km underground and cannot be sampled directly. Tracing its origin helps clarify how carbon was delivered to Earth and may help resolve a long-standing debate over the origin of the planet's elements.
Carbon isotope measurements of melt inclusions in Kīlauea and Oʻahu lavas, compared against mantle plume composition, indicate a carbon-13 signature that matches carbonaceous chondrite material more closely than ordinary mantle. The study does not directly sample the core, so the link between the surface lavas and core carbon remains an inference.
The players
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
A peer-reviewed scientific journal published by the United States National Academy of Sciences that releases research across many scientific disciplines.
Columbia University
A private research university in New York City whose scientists were part of the international team analyzing the Hawaiian lavas.
Yale University
A private research university in New Haven, Connecticut whose scientists contributed to the international study of the Hawaiian lavas.
The details
Researchers measured carbon isotopes in tiny melt pockets trapped inside olivine crystals from lavas erupted at Kīlauea and Oʻahu. Material rising through the center of the mantle plume, which originates at the core-mantle boundary, carries a higher proportion of carbon-13 than typical mantle material found along the plume's edges.
Timeline
The findings were published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Deeper Dive
The findings connect to the long-standing late-accretion model, which proposes that carbonaceous chondrites delivered volatile elements such as carbon to Earth during its final growth stage. Testing that model with isotopic evidence from mantle-derived lavas offers a route to understanding how the planet acquired the carbon that now sits in its core.
Understanding where Earth's carbon came from helps explain how the planet's surface and atmosphere developed over billions of years. The methods used here could later be applied to other volcanic samples to refine models of how volatile elements were distributed through the mantle and core.
The takeaway
Carbon in Earth's core is not just a deep-interior curiosity; it reflects how the planet was assembled from early solar system material. Tracking such chemical fingerprints through volcanic rock is one way scientists can reconstruct events that cannot be observed directly.
Further reading
Explore more research on Earth's deep interior and planetary formation in our geology coverage.
