magma ocean Archives - Page 3 of 6 - Astrobiology

Overlook crater” near the summit of Kilauea Volcano -- USGS

Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Lava / magma ocean / Volcanic Worlds, Status Report

AGNI: A Radiative-convective Model For Lava Planet Atmospheres

by Keith CowingJune 6, 2025June 6, 2025

It is important that we are able to accurately model the atmospheres of (exo)planets. This is because atmospheres play a central role in setting a planet’s thermochemical environment at a […]

Numerical simulations of lava planets interior dynamics with no rotation. The dimensionless temperature scale is the maximum super-adiabatic temperature contrast: temperature is 1 at the base of the magma ocean, 0 at the surface on the night-side and 1 at the surface on the day-side. Panel (a) shows equatorial cross-sections from a turbulent model in spherical geometry with no phase change: the upper half is a snapshot and the lower half is a time average over 12 turbulent turnover times with superposed streamlines. Panel (b) shows temperature and panel (c) melt fraction from the 2D Cartesian model that accounts for solid–liquid phase change. See also Supplementary Video 1. -- astro-ph.EP

Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Lava / magma ocean / Volcanic Worlds, Status Report

The Role Of Interior Dynamics and Differentiation on the Surface and Atmosphere of Lava Planets

by Keith CowingMay 30, 2025May 28, 2025

Lava planets are rocky exoplanets that orbit so close to their host star that their day-side is hot enough to melt silicate rock. Their short orbital periods ensure that lava […]

This schematic depicts the set-up of the volatile exchange during initialization (t=0) and run time. For initialization, a surface temperature of 4000 K and a completely molten magma ocean is assumed, where the dissolved volatiles are in balance with the outgassed volatile content, set by the volatile melt fraction Fi . As the magma ocean solidifies, part of the volatile budget is deposited in the solid mantle. Further, atmospheric escape can remove H2O. These two sink terms thus reduce the amount of a volatile available in the fully coupled magma ocean-atmosphere system Mmoa i . The full overview of all included processes, including radiogenic heating, is shown in Barth et al. (2021, Fig. 1) -- astro-ph.EP

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Lava / magma ocean / Volcanic Worlds, Press Release, TRAPPIST-1

From CO2- to H2O-dominated Atmospheres And Back — How Mixed Outgassing Changes The Volatile Distribution In Magma Oceans Around M Dwarf Stars [TRAPPIST-1]

by Keith CowingMay 24, 2025May 24, 2025

We investigate the impact of CO2 on TRAPPIST-1 e, f and g during the magma ocean stage. These potentially habitable rocky planets are currently the most accessible for astronomical observations.

Simulated behaviour of L 98-59 b calculated with a semi-analytic toy model for its thermal evolution. Temperature is plotted over time for different initial temperatures 𝑇0 (line style) and tidal heating amplitudes 𝐹𝑐 (line colour). The shaded region shows the temperature regime in which tidal heating is significant, via Equation A5. The black line shows the temperature at which tidal heating is maximised. The dotted blue line shows the pureradiative equilibrium temperature. astro-ph.EP

Astrogeology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Lava / magma ocean / Volcanic Worlds, Status Report

Self-limited Tidal Heating And Prolonged Magma Oceans In The L 98-59 System

by Keith CowingMay 14, 2025May 14, 2025

Rocky exoplanets accessible to characterisation often lie on close-in orbits where tidal heating within their interiors is significant, with the L 98-59 planetary system being a prime example.

Schematic illustration of chemical interaction between an hydrogen-dominated atmosphere and a magma ocean in sub-Neptune with an oxidized FeO-containing magma ocean (left panel) and a reduced FeO-free magma ocean. Note that the focus of this study is the chemical interaction in sub-Neptune with a reduced FeO-free magma ocean. -- astro-ph.EP

Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Ice Giant, Lava / magma ocean / Volcanic Worlds, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Monosilane Worlds: Sub-Neptunes with Atmospheres Shaped by Reduced Magma Oceans

by Keith CowingMay 12, 2025May 12, 2025

High-precision infrared spectroscopic measurements now enable detailed characterization of sub-Neptune atmospheres, potentially providing constraints on their interiors. Motivated by this, atmospheric models have been developed to explore chemical interactions between […]

Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Lava / magma ocean / Volcanic Worlds, Status Report

Characterizing the Radiative-Convective Structure of Dense Rocky Planet Atmospheres

by Keith CowingMay 5, 2025May 5, 2025

We use a one-dimensional line-by-line radiative-convective model to simulate hot, dense terrestrial-planet atmospheres.

Magma Ocean on Early Earth -- Grok via Astrobiology.com

Astrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Lava / magma ocean / Volcanic Worlds, Status Report

Scattering Blanketing Effect Of Earth’s Proto-atmosphere: Enhanced Suppression Of Planetary Radiation And Magma Ocean Cooling

by Keith CowingApril 3, 2025

The thermal evolution of magma oceans formed by giant impacts is strongly influenced by a proto-atmosphere through its blanketing effect, which suppresses outgoing planetary radiation.

Evolution of thermal properties of GJ 486b. The two plots at the top denote the stellar luminosity evolution (bolometric and XUV) and the mantle potential temperature evolution for GJ 486b. The yellow and orange background denote the time evolution before and after the complete solidification of the planet, respectively. The bottom two plots illustrate the planet radius, melt fraction, and viscosity evolution till the point of complete solidification. The dotted lines denote the core radius (rc), upper-lower mantle boundary radius (rulmb) and the planet radius (Rp), all normalized to planet radius. -- astro-ph.EP

Astronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Unveiling the Interior Structure and Thermal Evolution of Super-Earth GJ 486b

by Keith CowingJanuary 21, 2025January 21, 2025

Recent ground- and space-based surveys have shown that planets between Earth and Neptune in size, known as “super-Earths,” are among the most frequently found planets in the Galaxy.

Outgassed atmospheric composition at model termination for HD 63433 d (top) and TRAPPIST-1 c (bottom), versus mantle 𝑓 O2 (x-axis), simulated with both atmosphere models (y-axis). Pie chars show volatile volume mixing ratios and white numbers show log10 total surface pressure [bar]. -- astro-ph.EP

Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Lava / magma ocean / Volcanic Worlds, Status Report, TRAPPIST-1

Convective Shutdown In The Atmospheres of Lava Worlds

by Keith CowingDecember 18, 2024December 18, 2024

Atmospheric energy transport is central to the cooling of primordial magma oceans. Theoretical studies of atmospheres on lava planets have assumed that convection is the only process involved in setting […]

This schematic depicts the set-up of the volatile exchange during initialization (t=0) and run time. For initialization, a surface temperature of 4000 K and a completely molten magma ocean is assumed, where the dissolved volatiles are in balance with the outgassed volatile content, set by the volatile melt fraction Fi . As the magma ocean solidifies, part of the volatile budget is deposited in the solid mantle. Further, atmospheric escape can remove H2O. These two sink terms thus reduce the amount of a volatile available in the fully coupled magma ocean-atmosphere system Mimoa . The full overview of all included processes, including radiogenic heating, is shown in Barth et al. (2021, Fig. 1) -- astro-ph.EP

Astrogeology, Astronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Lava / magma ocean / Volcanic Worlds, Status Report

How Mixed Outgassing Changes The Volatile Distribution In Magma Oceans Around M Dwarf Stars

by Keith CowingDecember 17, 2024December 17, 2024

We investigate the impact of CO2 on TRAPPIST-1 e, f and g during the magma ocean stage. These potentially habitable rocky planets are currently the most accessible for astronomical observations.