Geoscience: Oceans of hydrogen potentially in Earth’s core (Nature Communications)
11 February 2026
The majority of hydrogen in Earth’s core is likely to have been incorporated during the planet’s formation, rather than through comet impacts, according to the results of laboratory experiments reported in Nature Communications. The findings suggest that the core may be the largest reservoir of hydrogen on Earth, potentially containing more hydrogen than that stored in the oceans.
Previous research has suggested that the Earth’s metallic core may contain large amounts of hydrogen, but estimating how much has proven challenging. Previous estimates span a wide range and have been based on indirect measurements. Dong yang Huang and colleagues addressed this challenge by simulating in the laboratory the pressures and temperatures under which Earth’s core was formed.
In a series of experiments, the authors provide direct, atomic-scale observation of hydrogen within silicon- and oxygen-rich nanostructures in core-forming iron alloys. The observed ratio of silicon to hydrogen in these nanostructures was approximately 1:1. Using this relationship, and previously constrained estimates of the silicon content of Earth’s core, the authors estimate that the Earth’s core may contain between 0.07 and 0.36% hydrogen by weight, equivalent to between 9 and 45 times the hydrogen present in today’s oceans. The authors propose that this amount of hydrogen is likely to have been acquired during Earth’s main stages of planetary formation, rather than through late-stage delivery such as comet impacts.
The authors note important uncertainties, including the difficulty of quantifying hydrogen even with advanced techniques and assumptions about early Earth’s composition. Future work refining these measurements and extending them to wider conditions will be needed to better constrain hydrogen’s role in Earth’s deep interior.
- Article
- Open access
- Published: 10 February 2026
Huang, D., Murakami, M., Gerstl, S. et al. Experimental quantification of hydrogen content in the Earth’s core. Nat Commun 17, 1211 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-68821-6
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