About 2.5 billion years ago, free oxygen, or O2, first started to accumulate to meaningful levels in Earth’s atmosphere, setting the stage for the rise of complex life on our […]
climate
Posted inArctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Fossils & Paleontology, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Interstellar, Press Release
Our Solar System May Have Passed Through Dense Interstellar Clouds 2 Million Years Ago, Altering Earth’s Climate
Around two million years ago, Earth was a very different place, with our early human ancestors living alongside saber-toothed tigers, mastodons, and enormous rodents. And, depending on where they were, […]
![Comparisons between the theoretical transmission spectra generated by EPACRIS (solid lines) and the JWST observations for (Top) H2:H2O=50:50 and [C+N+S]=100×solar metallicity scenario of K2-18 b assuming Ab = 0.3 corresponding to the left panel of Figure 4, and (Bottom) H2:H2O=75:25 and [C+N+S]=100×solar metallicity scenario of TOI-270 d assuming Ab = 0 corresponding to the right panel of Figure 4. The grey symbols with error bars indicate JWST observations of corresponding exoplanets taken from Madhusudhan et al. (2023) for K2-18 b (Top), and Benneke et al. (2024) for TOI-270 d (Bottom). Each color represents a spectrum generated by excluding specific species: green for no CH4, red for no CO2, light blue for no OCS, blue for no H2O, teal for no CO, light brown for no NH3, and black for all species included. -- astro-ph.EP](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Chemical-Mapping-of.png?resize=1200%2C720&ssl=1)
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
Chemical Mapping of Temperate Sub-Neptune Atmospheres: Constraining The Deep-interior H2O/H2 Using The Atmospheric CO2/CH4
Understanding the envelope composition of sub-Neptune-type exoplanets is challenging due to the inherent degeneracy in their interior composition scenarios. Particularly, the H2O/H2 ratio, or can be expressed as the O/H […]
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gas Giants, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Jupiter, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Using Oceanography To Understand Fronts And Cyclones On Jupiter
New research led by Lia Siegelman, a physical oceanographer at UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography, shows that the roiling storms at the planet Jupiter’s polar regions are powered […]
Posted inAstrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Lava / magma ocean / Volcanic Worlds, Status Report, Venus
Venus as an Exoplanet: I. An Initial Exploration of the 3-D Energy Balance for a CO2 Exoplanetary Atmosphere Around an M-Dwarf Star
The chemical evolution of an exoplanetary Venus-like atmosphere is dependent upon the ultraviolet to near ultraviolet (FUV-NUV) radiation ratio from the parent star, the balance between CO2 photolysis and recombination […]
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Space Weather & Heliophysics, Status Report, Terraforming & Geoengineering
Terraforming / Geoengineering: Clouds Dissipate Quickly During Solar Eclipses As The Land Surface Cools
Clouds affected by solar eclipses could influence the reflection of sunlight back into space and might change local precipitation patterns.
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report, TRAPPIST-1
The Coupled Impacts of Atmospheric Composition and Obliquity on the Climate Dynamics of TRAPPIST-1e
Planets in multi-planet systems are expected to migrate inward as near-resonant chains, thus allowing them to undergo gravitational planet-planet interactions and possibly maintain a non-zero obliquity.
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Microbiology & Virology, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Limited Adaptability Makes Freshwater Bacteria Vulnerable To Climate Change
Freshwater resources are limited, accounting for only 3.5% of Earth’s water, with just 0.25% accessible on the surface. Nevertheless, freshwater lakes are essential for ecosystem functioning and global carbon cycling […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Astronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gas Giants, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Press Release
Webb Maps Weather On Hot Gas-giant Exoplanet WASP-43b
An international team of researchers has successfully used NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope to map the weather on the hot gas-giant exoplanet WASP-43 b.
Posted inAstrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Habitable Zones, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report, Terraforming & Geoengineering, Venus
Venus As An Anchor Point for Planetary Habitability
A major focus of the planetary science and astrobiology community is the understanding of planetary habitability, including the myriad factors that control the evolution and sustainability of temperate surface environments […]