The extreme physical properties of the CoRoT-7b super-Earth

The search for rocky exoplanets plays an important role in our quest for extra-terrestrial life. Here, we discuss the extreme physical properties possible for the first characterised rocky super-Earth, CoRoT-7b (R_pl = 1.58 ± 0.10 R_Earth, M_pl = 6.9 ± 1.2 M_Earth). It is extremely close to its star (a = 0.0171 AU = 4.48 R_st), with its spin and orbital rotation likely synchronised. The comparison of its location in the (M_pl, R_pl) plane with the predictions of planetary models for different compositions points to an Earth-like composition, even if the error bars of the measured quantities and the partial degeneracy of the models prevent a definitive conclusion. The proximity to its star provides an additional constraint on the model. It implies a high extreme-UV flux and particle wind, and the corresponding efficient erosion of the planetary atmosphere especially for volatile species including water. Consequently, we make the working hypothesis that the planet is rocky with no volatiles in its atmosphere, and derive the physical properties that result. As a consequence, the atmosphere is made of rocky vapours with a very low pressure (P ? 1.5 Pa), no cloud can be sustained, and no thermalisation of the planet is expected. The dayside is very hot (2474 ± 71 K at the sub-stellar point) while the nightside is very cold (50-75 K). The sub-stellar point is as hot as the tungsten filament of an incandescent bulb, resulting in the melting and distillation of silicate rocks and the formation of a lava ocean. These possible features of CoRoT-7b could be common to many small and hot planets, including the recently discovered Kepler-10b. They define a new class of objects that we propose to name “Lava-ocean planets”.     

Designing science web sites

From a scientist’s viewpoint a web site is one tool used to conduct research. From an artist’s viewpoint web sites are a form of visual composition. From a developer’s point of view a web site is a type of application. While web sites are a relatively new medium with a particular set of constraints, they do adhere to the same basic design principles that apply to other art forms. These design principles are the basic assumptions that affect the arrangement of elements within a composition. A successful design uses the principles and elements to achieve a visual goal in the composition. A web site designed for scientists has unique properties which are not shared by many other types of web sites. These properties influence the overall visual design of the web sites. Recently at the Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics at UCLA undertook a re-design of a number of its websites. In the effort, the use of visual design principles combined with the properties of a science web site were put to the test. In all, six different web sites were designed each with a difference science focus. We describe the process used to design the web sites which involve forming teams of designers, scientists and developers. We present example pages from each design and conclude with a discussion of what was learned during the process.     

An Attempt to Close the Daytime Surface Energy Balance Using Spatially-Averaged Flux Measurements

Single-tower eddy-covariance measurements represent the complete surface flux of a scalar only under idealized conditions. Therefore, we often find an underestimation of energy fluxes expressed as a lack of energy balance closure at many sites. In this study, a multi-tower approach to measure atmospheric energy fluxes based on spatial averaging is evaluated and possible mechanisms causing a lack of energy balance closure are analysed, focussing on daytime data only. It is shown that the multi-tower technique is also unable to measure the entire flux for our site, likely because the assumption of horizontal homogeneity is violated. Heterogeneity-induced and buoyancy-driven quasi-stationary circulations are probably the dominant processes causing the underestimation of energy fluxes. A dependence of the energy balance residual on stability is found, with residuals close to zero for stable stratification, a maximum under unstable to near-neutral conditions and still relatively large residuals for stronger instability. Assuming the processes transporting energy and CO₂ are similar, the implications on long-term CO₂ flux measurements are analysed. Accordingly, the resulting selective systematic error of cumulative net ecosystem exchange estimates for agricultural regions such as ours can be of the order of more than 100%, since mainly the fluxes during periods of net CO₂ uptake are underestimated while periods of net CO₂ release are much less affected by this bias. Further investigations about this issue are highly warranted.     

Dissolution kinetics and the weathering of mafic minerals

Fayalite, hypersthene, basalt, and obsidian were dissolved in buffered solutions (25°C; pH 4.5 and 5.5) under air, N₂ or O₂ atmospheres, in order to follow the kinetics of dissolution. Each dissolved more rapidly at lower pH values, dissolving most rapidly in the initial few days, followed by slower dissolution for periods up to six months. Dissolution was more rapid when air was excluded. In oxygen atmospheres an Fe(OH)₃ precipitate armors mineral surfaces, thus inhibiting further dissolution, and further affects the solution by scavenging dissolved silica and cations. Dissolution reactions include initial exchange between cations and H⁺, incongruent dissolution of silicate structures, oxidation of Fe²⁺ in solution, precipitation of Fe(OH)₃, and scavenging of dissolved silica and cations by Fe(OH)₃. Dissolution kinetics may explain weathering of mafic rocks and minerals at the Earth's surface, the formation of Fe-oxide coatings on mineral grains, weathering of submarine mafic rocks and intrastratal solution of mafic minerals in buried sandstones. Early Precambrian weathering would have been more rapid before the appearance of large amounts of oxygen in the atmosphere, and continental denudation rates may have been higher than at present because of this effect and the predominance of mafic igneous rocks at an early stage of continent formation and growth.