Liquid water on cold exo-Earths via basal melting of ice sheets.
Journal
Nature communications
ISSN: 2041-1723
Titre abrégé: Nat Commun
Pays: England
ID NLM: 101528555
Informations de publication
Date de publication:
06 12 2022
06 12 2022
Historique:
received:
17
06
2022
accepted:
22
11
2022
entrez:
6
12
2022
pubmed:
7
12
2022
medline:
15
12
2022
Statut:
epublish
Résumé
Liquid water is a critical component of habitability. However, the production and stability of surficial liquid water can be challenging on planets outside the Habitable Zone and devoid of adequate greenhouse warming. On such cold, icy exo-Earths, basal melting of regional/global ice sheets by geothermal heat provides an alternative means of forming liquid water. Here, we model the thermophysical evolution of ice sheets to ascertain the geophysical conditions that allow liquid water to be produced and maintained at temperatures above the pressure-controlled freezing point of water ice on exo-Earths. We show that even with a modest, Moon-like geothermal heat flow, subglacial oceans of liquid water can form at the base of and within the ice sheets on exo-Earths. Furthermore, subglacial oceans may persist on exo-Earths for a prolonged period due to the billion-year half-lives of heat-producing elements responsible for geothermal heat. These subglacial oceans, often in contact with the planet's crust and shielded from the high energy radiation of their parent star by thick ice layers, may provide habitable conditions for an extended period.
Identifiants
pubmed: 36473880
doi: 10.1038/s41467-022-35187-4
pii: 10.1038/s41467-022-35187-4
pmc: PMC9726705
doi:
Substances chimiques
Water
059QF0KO0R
Types de publication
Journal Article
Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.
Langues
eng
Sous-ensembles de citation
IM
Pagination
7521Informations de copyright
© 2022. The Author(s).
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