LIMIT CYCLES CAN REDUCE THE WIDTH OF THE HABITABLE ZONE.

ABSTRACT: The liquid water habitable zone (HZ) describes the orbital distance at which a terrestrial planet can maintain above-freezing conditions through regulation by the carbonate-silicate cycle. Recent calculations have suggested that planets in the outer regions of the HZ cannot maintain stable, warm climates, but rather should oscillate between long, globally glaciated states and shorter periods of climatic warmth. Such conditions, similar to "Snowball Earth" episodes experienced on Earth, would be inimical to the development of complex land life, including intelligent life. Here, we build on previous studies with an updated energy balance climate model to calculate this "limit cycle" region of the HZ where such cycling would occur. We argue that an abiotic Earth would have a greater CO2 parti

SUBMITTER: Haqq-Misra J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6090540 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature