Researchers have developed the Smaller Than Earth Habitability Model (STEHM) to assess which planets can maintain life-supporting atmospheres, focusing on size and atmospheric dynamics.
greenhouse gas
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Status Report
Quantification Of Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide From The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES East)
Editor’s note: One way to search for habitable – and possibly inhabited – worlds in our solar system and in other star systems is to examine planetary atmospheres for chemical […]
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
Revisiting the Greenhouse Effect of Non-greenhouse Gases in the Atmospheres of Earth-like Planets
Although non-greenhouse gases can vary substantially in abundance in Earth-like atmospheres, their climatic influences remain insufficiently understood.
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Habitable Zones, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report
The Hydrogen, Methane And Ammonia Biosphere On Early Earth
Current paradigms for the origin and evolutions of life and the environment on early Earth have been based on the premises that carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrogen gas (N2) were […]
Posted inAnalog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Cryobiology, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Interaction Between Vegetation And Snowball Phases In The Late Proterozoic Earth
Between 2.4 and 0.6 Gy ago, our planet underwent several episodes of global glaciations, including the Snowball Earth case that ended 635 My ago.
Posted inAstrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Fossils & Paleontology, Habitable Zones, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Atmospheric Oxygen And Methane On The Early Earth
The habitability of the early Earth was affected by various factors. We focus here on atmospheric oxygen (O2) and methane (CH4). O2 is essential for supporting eukaryotic life, including plants […]
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
Astroclimes — Measuring The Abundance Of CO2 And CH4 In The Earth’s Atmosphere Uusing Astronomical Observations
Although a number of satellites and ground-based networks measure the total column volume mixing ratio (VMR) of these gases, they rely on sunlight, and column measurements at night are comparatively […]
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
Impacts of Atmospheric Carbon Species and Stellar Type on Climates of Terrestrial Planets
The climates of terrestrial planets are largely determined by the composition of their atmospheres and spectral types of their host stars. Previous studies suggest a wide range of carbon species […]
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Habitable Zones, Microbiology & Virology, Status Report
The Clumped Isotope Signatures of Multiple Methanogenic Metabolisms
Methane is a potent greenhouse gas, an important energy source, and an important part of the global carbon cycle. The relative abundances of doubly substituted (“clumped”) methane isotopologues (13CH3D and […]
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Tides Tighten The Hycean Habitable Zone
Hycean planets — exoplanets with substantial water ice layers, deep surface oceans, and hydrogen-rich atmospheres — are thought to be favorable environments for life.