globe ’s oceans have been around for about 4 billion years , but they ’ve changed a peck since the early millennia when they covered the whole planet and harbored methane - loving microbe . On asuper - Earth , however , ocean might stay for more than twice as long — with intriguing resultant role .
This Potentially Habitable Super - Earth Is Just 16 Light old age aside
Photo bybierchenvia Shutterstock
A group of researcher led by Laura Schaefer of the Harvard - Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics have been incline brawny computer simulation of super - Earths . Using data from known superintendent - earth , which are rocky , Earthlike planet that are much turgid than our own , they hear to project out what oceans would be like on these massive worlds .
Oceans on Earth are keep because our planet has water coating its surface that is supplemented by sea worth of water beneath the planet ’s crust . During volcanic eruptions , often on the sea base , some of this subterranean pee emerges and supplements what ’s in the ocean . If it were n’t for this process , our ocean would finally disappear due to plate tectonics , which radically shift the positions of landmasses and piss . ( And indeed , our oceans have shrunk quite a bit over the past duad billion years . )
On a super - Earth , the home base tectonic process would be even more awe - inspiring . Oceans would take longer to forge , but they could be sustained for enormously farsighted catamenia .
In a spillage , the Harvard - Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics explains :
[ Schaefer ] found that planets two to four times the mass of Earth are even better at establishing and observe oceans than our Earth . The oceans of super - Earths would endure for at least 10 billion year ( unless boiled away by an develop reddish giant lead ) .
Interestingly , the largest planet that was studied , five times the batch of Earth , took a while to get going . Its sea did n’t develop for about a billion geezerhood , due to a thicker freshness and lithosphere that delayed the start of volcanic outgassing .
“ This suggest that if you want to attend for biography , you should count at older super - ground , ” Schaefer say .
Given that scientists expect that water is an idealistic place for Earthlike spirit to commence — well , permit ’s just say that a mega - ocean on a mega - Earth that last for billions of years would be a neat billet to site a skill fiction novel about first contact . Or , you have a go at it , a good place to broadcast a generation ship .
Read more at theCenter for Astrophysics
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