A key component when forecasting what the Earth’s climate might look like in the future is the ability to draw on accurate temperature records of the past. By reconstructing past […]
Atmospheres, Climate, Weather
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Icy Worlds, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Ocean Worlds Exploration and the Search for Life
This is a community draft white paper for submission to the Decadal Survey in Planetary Science and Astrobiology, reflecting the views of the NASA Astrobiology Program’s Research Coordination Network for […]
Posted inAstrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Press Release, Proxima Centauri
Atmospheric Convection Plays A Key Role In The Climate Of Tidally-locked Terrestrial Exoplanets: Insights From High-resolution Simulations
Using a 3D general circulation model (GCM), we investigate the sensitivity of the climate of tidally-locked Earth-like exoplanets, Trappist-1e and Proxima Centauri b, to the choice of a convection parameterization. […]
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Press Release, Proxima Centauri
Proxima Centauri b: A Strong Case for Including Cosmic-Ray-induced Chemistry in Atmospheric Biosignature Studies
Due to its Earth-like minimum mass of 1.27 ME and its close proximity to our Solar system, Proxima Centauri b is one of the most interesting exoplanets for habitability studies.
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Press Release
Earth Climate Models And The Search For Life On Other Planets
In a generic brick building on the northwestern edge of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center campus in Greenbelt, Maryland, thousands of computers packed in racks the size of vending machines […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Press Release, Titan
Low Pressure EUV Photochemical Experiments: Insight on the Ion-Chemistry Occurring in Titan's Atmosphere
Thanks to the Cassini spacecraft onboard instruments, it has been known that Titan’s ionospheric chemistry is complex and the molecular growth is initiated through the photolysis of the most abundant […]
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Dusty Iron in the Ancient Oceans
A recent study examines the affect of dust-borne iron on primary productivity in the oceans of the ancient Earth.
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extinction events, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Ocean Anoxia during a Biocrisis on the Ancient Earth
A recent study provides new constraints on the timing of ocean anoxia during the Smithian-Spathian boundary (SSB), which represents a period of ‘biocrisis’ for Earth’s marine ecosystems as they recovered […]
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Press Release
Lightning On Other Planets
More than 4,000 planets are known that orbit stars other than our Sun. Many harbor a dynamic atmosphere that is cold enough that cloud particles can form in abundance. The […]
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather
The Snowball Stratosphere
According to the Snowball Earth hypothesis, Earth has experienced periods of low-latitude glaciation in its deep past. Prior studies have used general circulation models (GCMs) to examine the effects such […]