Earth's Earliest Atmospheres

Earth's earliest atmospheres.

Earth is the one known example of an inhabited planet and to current knowledge the likeliest site of the one known origin of life. Here we discuss the origin of Earth's atmosphere and ocean and some of the environmental conditions of the early Earth as they may relate to the origin of life. A key punctuating event in the narrative is the Moon-forming impact, partly because it made Earth for a s...

Chemistry of Silicate Atmospheres of Evaporating Super- Earths

Photochemistry in Terrestrial Exoplanet Atmospheres III: Photochemistry and Thermochemistry in Thick Atmospheres on Super Earths and Mini Neptunes

Some super Earths and mini Neptunes will likely have thick atmospheres that are not H2-dominated. We have developed a photochemistry-thermochemistry kinetic-transport model for exploring the compositions of thick atmospheres on super Earths and mini Neptunes, applicable for both H2-dominated atmospheres and non-H2-dominated atmospheres. Using this model to study thick atmospheres for wide range...

PHOTOCHEMISTRY IN TERRESTRIAL EXOPLANET ATMOSPHERES. III. PHOTOCHEMISTRY AND THERMOCHEMISTRY IN THICK ATMOSPHERES ON Citation Hu, Renyu, and Sara Seager. “PHOTOCHEMISTRY IN TERRESTRIAL EXOPLANET ATMOSPHERES. III. PHOTOCHEMISTRY AND THERMOCHEMISTRY IN THICK ATMOSPHERES ON SUPER EARTHS AND MINI

Some super Earths and mini Neptunes will likely have thick atmospheres that are not H2-dominated. We have developed a photochemistry–thermochemistry kinetic-transport model for exploring the compositions of thick atmospheres on super Earths and mini Neptunes, applicable for both H2-dominated atmospheres and non-H2dominated atmospheres. Using this model to study thick atmospheres for wide ranges...

Melting in super-earths.

We examine the possible extent of melting in rock-iron super-earths, focusing on those in the habitable zone. We consider the energetics of accretion and core formation, the timescale of cooling and its dependence on viscosity and partial melting, thermal regulation via the temperature dependence of viscosity, and the melting curves of rock and iron components at the ultra-high pressures charac...