New simulations show that truly Earth-like exoplanets with oceans and continents, and beaches along the boundaries, may be much more common around red dwarfs than previously expected.
ocean
Posted inAstrogeology, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
An Ocean Inside Earth? There Is Water Hundreds Of Kilometers Down
The transition zone between the Earth’s upper and lower mantle contains considerable quantities of water, according to an international study involving the Institute for Geosciences at Goethe University in Frankfurt.
Posted inBiogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Enceladus, Habitable Zones, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
New Evidence For Habitability In Enceladus’ Ocean
The search for extraterrestrial life just got more interesting as a team of scientists including Southwest Research Institute’s Dr. Christopher Glein has discovered new evidence for a key building block […]
Posted inHabitable Zones, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Sleeping Giant Could End Deep Ocean Life
Red medusa found just off the bottom of the deep sea in Alaska. CREDIT Hidden Ocean 2005/NOAA A previously overlooked factor — the position of continents — helps fill Earth’s […]
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology, Europa, Icy Worlds, Press Release
On Europa Chaos Terrains Could Be Shuttling Oxygen To An Ocean
Salt water within the icy shell of Jupiter’s moon Europa could be transporting oxygen into an ice-covered ocean of liquid water where it could potentially help sustain alien life, according […]
Posted inPress Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Role Of Ocean Microbes In Climate Effects
A new study shows that “hotspots” of nutrients surrounding phytoplankton — which are tiny marine algae producing approximately half of the oxygen we breathe every day — play an outsized […]
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 inOrigin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
Sea Level as a Metronome of Earth's History
Sedimentary layers record the history of the Earth. They contain stratigraphic cycles and patterns that precisely reveal the succession of climatic and tectonic conditions that have occurred over millennia, thereby […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Vital Signs: Seismology of Ocean Worlds
Ice covered ocean worlds are probably seismically active. Measuring that activity can provide information about global and local habitability. This article examines the likely seismic activity of known and potential […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Press Release
Exploring the Inner Edge of the Habitable Zone with Fully Coupled Oceans
Rotation in planetary atmospheres plays an important role in regulating atmospheric and oceanic heat flow, cloud formation and precipitation. Using the Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) three dimension General […]