[astro-ph.EP] Recent JWST observations challenge the traditional ‘cosmic shoreline’ from both sides, revealing thick volatile atmospheres on the hottest close-in ‘lava worlds,’ where irradiation should drive the most extreme escape, […]
magma ocean
![Schematic of the coupled interior-atmosphere evolutionary framework PROTEUS, showing the links between interior, surface, atmosphere, and stellar modules. Core components include SPIDER (mantle dynamics), CALLIOPE (surface in-/outgassing), AGNI/JANUS (radiativeand prescribed-convective atmospheres), ZEPHYRUS (atmospheric escape), and MORS (XUV stellar evolution). Modules exchange energy fluxes at each planetary interfaces—including core cooling, volatile outgassing, heat transport, heat loss to space, escape and stellar irradiation—while C–H–O–N–S volatiles are tracked throughout the mantle and atmosphere. -- [astro-ph.EP]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Atmospheric-evolution.png?resize=1200%2C718&ssl=1)
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather
Atmospheric Evolution Through Outgassing And Escape On Young Molten Rocky Exoplanets
[astro-ph.EP] The earliest rocky planet atmospheres are shaped by competition between initial volatile inventories and atmospheric escape. On young magma ocean planets, outgassing competes with atmospheric escape, controlling volatile retention […]
![Reflation events (red) occur across a range of ages and with different magnitudes across the evolution of irradiated super-Earths. The plot shows the normalised bulk density evolution of individual simulations, versus the time elapsed since planet formation. The red lines indicate cases where a reflation event occurs, while blue lines indicate those where it does not occur. The evolution tracks that end with a dot indicate the planet has reached an airless state and complete atmospheric erosion by hydrodynamic escape has taken place. The evolution of the two select cases for Figure 1 are highlighted and denoted with a R and D. These cases illustrate in more detail a representative reflation (red) and deflation case (blue). -- [astro-ph.EP]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Reflation.png?resize=1200%2C717&ssl=1)
Posted inAstrogeology
Reflation: Redox-driven Atmospheric Inflation As Tracer Of Super-Earth Geochemistry
[astro-ph.EP] We demonstrate that the redox-sensitivity of mantle outgassing can trigger transient episodes of atmospheric re-inflation in highly irradiated and geochemically-reduced super-Earths, a mechanism we term reflation.
Posted inAstrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Ice Giant, Lava / magma ocean / Volcanic Worlds, Neptune, Status Report, Uranus, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Ice Giants Revisited: Uranus And Neptune As Magma Ocean Worlds
Uranus and Neptune are commonly interpreted as volatile-rich “ice giants”, an assumption that underpins most interior models.
Posted inAstrogeology, Lava / magma ocean / Volcanic Worlds, Moon, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report
Resonant Lunar Tides Of Earth’s Core And Basal Magma Ocean
Earth’s magnetic field is generated by fluid motion in the liquid-metal core and has been active for billions of year.
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
The Role of Formation Location in Shaping Sulfur-, Nitrogen-, and Carbon-Bearing Species in Super-Earth and Sub-Neptune Atmospheres
Atmospheric compositions of sub-Neptunes and super-Earths are often interpreted as tracers of formation location relative to volatile ice lines.
Posted inAstrogeology, Astronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Lava / magma ocean / Volcanic Worlds, Status Report
Coupling Magma-ocean And Atmospheres In Spectral Retrievals Of Sub-Neptunes
Recent high-precision atmospheric observations with JWST is enabling detailed characterization of sub-Neptune atmospheres and motivating efforts to understand and constrain their interiors.
Posted inAstrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Mars, Press Release
Earth And Mars Interior Structures Set By Re-melting Of The First Solid Mantle
Magma ocean crystallisation sets up the early structure and long-term evolution of terrestrial planets. Recent seismic evidence signals the presence of a silicate layer at the base of Mars’ mantle.
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Io, Jupiter, Lava / magma ocean / Volcanic Worlds, Status Report
Analysis Of Io’s tidal Response As A Function Of The Properties Of The Partially Molten Layer
Io’s internal heat is generated by Jupiter-driven tidal dissipation and Laplace resonance. This energy partially melts the mantle, but the melt fraction, depth, and spatial distribution of dissipation remain poorly […]
Posted inAstrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Lava / magma ocean / Volcanic Worlds, Status Report
The Effects Of Non-ideal Mixing In Planetary Magma Oceans And Atmospheres
Sub-Neptunes with hydrogen-rich envelopes are expected to sustain long-lived magma oceans that continuously exchange volatiles with their overlying atmospheres. Capturing these interactions is key to understanding the chemical evolution and […]