Planetary atmosphere evolution:Do other habitable planets exist and can we detect them?

The goal of this conference is to consider whether it is possible within the next few decades to detect Earth-like planets around other stars using telescopes or interferometers on the ground or in space. Implicit in the term “Earth-like” is the idea that such planets might be habitable by Earth-like organisms, or that they might actually be inhabited. Here, I shall address two questions from the standpoint of planetary atmosphere evolution. First, what are the chances that habitable planets exist around other stars? And, second, if inhabited planets exist, what would be the best way to detect them?     

Seafloor hydrothermal activity and spreading rates: the eocene carbon dioxide greenhouse revisited

A suggestion has been made that enhanced rates of hydrothermal activity during the Eocene could have caused a global warming by adding calcium to the ocean and pumping CO₂ into the atmosphere (Owen and Rea, 1984). This phenomenon was purported to be consistent with the predictions of the CO₂ geochemical cycle model of Berner, Lasaga and Garrels (1983) (henceforth BLAG). In fact, however, the BLAG model predicts only a weak connection between hydrothermal activity and atmospheric CO₂ levels. By contrast, it predicts a strong correlation between seafloor spreading rates and pCO₂, since the release rate of CO₂ from carbonate metamorphism is assumed to be proportional to the mean spreading rate. The Eocene warming can be conveniently explained if the BLAG model is extended by assuming that the rate of carbonate metamorphism is also proportional to the total length of the midocean ridges from which the spreading originates.     

Synthetic spectra of simulated terrestrial atmospheres containing possible biomarker gases.

NASA's proposed Terrestrial Planet Finder, a space-based interferometer, will eventually allow spectroscopic analyses of the atmospheres of extrasolar planets. Such analyses would provide information about the existence of life on these planets. One strategy in the search for life is to look for evidence of O3 (and hence O2) in a planet's atmosphere; another is to look for gases that might be present in an atmosphere analogous to that of the inhabited early Earth. In order to investigate these possibilities, we have calculated synthetic spectra for several hypothetical terrestrial-type atmospheres. The model atmospheres represent four different scenarios. The first two, representing inhabited terrestrial planets, are an Earth-like atmosphere containing variable amounts of oxygen and an early Earth-type atmosphere containing methane. In addition, two cases representing Mars-like and early Venus-like atmospheres were evaluated, to provide possible "false positive" spectra. The calculated spectra suggest that ozone could be detected by an instrument like Terrestrial Planet Finder if the O2 concentration in the planet's atmosphere is > or = 200 ppm, or 10(-3) times the present atmospheric level. Methane should be observable on an early-Earth type planet if it is present in concentrations of 100 ppm or more. Methane has both biogenic and abiogenic sources, but concentrations exceeding 1000 ppm, or 0.1% by volume, would be difficult to produce from abiogenic sources alone. High methane concentrations in a planet's atmosphere are therefore another potential indicator for extraterrestrial life.     

O2 concentrations in dense primitive atmospheres: commentary

Now that astronomers are, I understand, on the verge of detecting extrasolar planets, the question of whether such planets might be inhabited is beginning to be discussed in serious scientific circles. Specifically, astronomers such as Rosenqvist and Chassefiére (see the preceding article) are interested in whether spectroscopic measurements of free O2 in a planet's atmosphere might be used as evidence for life. As such, they have attempted to place constraints on the amount of O2 that might be found in the atmosphere of a lifeless planet or, more specifically, on a planet where oxygenic photosynthesis has not yet been invented. This question can be addressed by photochemical modeling, if one is careful about how one goes about it. The calculations presented here suggest an upper limit of approximately 10 mbar on the O2 partial pressure in a dominantly CO2 atmosphere.     

Spatial variation of nutrients and primary productivity in the Rufiji Delta mangroves,Tanzania

Determinations of spatial and temporal variations in organic matter and nutrient dynamics in water and sediments are crucial for understanding changes in aquatic bodies. In this study, we (i) determine the spatial dynamics of dissolved inorganic nutrients, during the transition from the dry to the rainy season, and (ii) provide future productivity predictions for the Rufiji Delta mangroves, Tanzania, based on the input of various nutrients. Water samples were collected from six locations, three times per year between April 2012 and January 2014, and analysed for dissolved nutrients, total organic and inorganic carbon, chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b and total carotenoids. The prediction of future net primary productivity in the Rufiji mangroves was undertaken using the software STELLA. The mean nutrient concentrations were of the order: nitrate > phosphate > ammonium > silica > dissolved organic carbon. The study revealed that high nutrient concentrations occurred in the northern part of the Rufiji Delta as a result of anthropogenic influence in the watershed. Modelling of nutrient inputs into the delta indicated enhanced primary productivity, which is expected to increase the vulnerability of water quality in the near future due to eutrophication.     

Photochemistry of methane in the Earth's early atmosphere

A detailed model is presented of methane photochemistry in the primitive terrestrial atmosphere along with speculation about its interpretation. Steady-state CH₄ mixing ratios of 10⁻⁶–10⁻⁴ could have been maintained by a methane source of about 10¹¹ cm⁻² s⁻¹, which is comparable to the modern biogenic methane production rate. In the absence of a source, methane would have disappeared in <10⁴ years, being either oxidized, or polymerized into more complex hydrocarbons. The source strength needed to maintain a steady CH₄ mixing ratio and the degree to which methane could have polymerized to form higher hydrocarbons depend upon the amount of CO₂ present in the early atmosphere. The dependence on H₂ is much weaker. Infrared absorption by methane, and especially by other hydrocarbon species, may have supplemented the greenhouse warming due to carbon dioxide. A radiative model is needed to establish this effect quantitatively. The destruction of the methane greenhouse early in the Proterozoic may have triggered the Huronian glaciation.These calculations also suggest that atmospheres rich in both CO₂ and CH₄ may be photochemically unstable with respect to conversion to CO.     

High atmospheric NO x levels and multiple photochemical steady states

Previous zero-dimensional photochemical calculations indicate that multiple tropospheric steady states may exist, in which different NO _x (NO+NO₂) levels could be supported by the same source of NO _x . To investigate this possibility more closely, a one-dimensional photochemical model has been used to estimate the rate of removal of atmospheric NO _x compounds at different NO _x levels. At low NO _x levels NO _x is photochemically converted to HNO₃, which is removed by either wet or dry deposition. At high NO _x levels formation of HNO₃ is inhibited, and NO _x is removed by a variety of other processes, including rainout of N₂O₄ and N₂O₅, surface deposition of NO and NO₂, and direct dissolution of NO and NO₂ in rainwater. Multiple steady states are possible if surface deposition of NO _x is relatively inefficient. The NO _x source required to trigger high atmospheric NO _x levels is approximately 10 to 15 times the present global emission rate-less than half the source strength predicted by the zero-dimensional model. NO _x mixing ratios in excess of 10^-7 would cause severe damage to the ozone layer and could result in either a climatic warming or cooling, depending upon the amount of NO₂ present.     

Effects of high CO2 levels on surface temperature and atmospheric oxidation state of the early Earth

One-dimensional radiative-convective and photochemical models are used to examine the effects of enhanced CO₂ concentrations on the surface temperature of the early Earth and the composition of the prebiotic atmosphere. Carbon dioxide concentrations of the order of 100–1000 times the present level are required to compensate for an expected solar luminosity decrease of 25–30%, if CO₂ and H₂O were the only greenhouse gases present. The primitive stratosphere was cold and dry, with a maximum H₂O volume mixing ratio of 10^–6. The atmospheric oxidation state was controlled by the balance between volcanic emission of reduced gases, photo-stimulated oxidation of dissolved Fe⁺² in the oceans, escape of hydrogen to space, and rainout of H₂O₂ and H₂CO. At high CO₂ levels, production of hydrogen owing to rainout of H₂O₂ would have kept the H₂ mixing ratio above 2×10^–4 and the ground-level O₂ mixing ratio below 10^–11, even if no other sources of hydrogen were present. Increased solar UV fluxes could have led to small changes in the ground-level mixing ratios of both O₂ and H₂.     

New constraints on Precambrian ocean composition

The Precambrian record of carbonate and evaporite sedimentation is equivocal. In contrast to most previous interpretations, it is possible that Archean, Paleoproterozoic, and to a lesser extent, Meso to Neoproterozoic seawater favored surplus abiotic carbonate precipitation, as aragonite and (hi-Mg?) calcite, in comparison to younger times. Furthermore, gypsum/anhydrite may have been only rarely precipitated prior to halite precipitation during evaporation prior to about 1.8 Ga. Two effects may have contributed to these relationships. First, sulfate concentration of seawater may have been critically low prior to about 1.9 Ga so the product mCa++ x mSO4-- would not have produced gypsum before halite, as in the Mesoproterozoic to modern ocean. Second, the bicarbonate to calcium ratio was sufficiently high so that during progressive evaporation of seawater, calcium would have been exhausted before the gypsum field was reached. The pH of the Archean and Paleoproterozoic ocean need not have been significantly different from the modern value of 8.1, even at CO2 partial pressures of a tenth of an atmosphere. Higher CO2 partial pressures require somewhat lower pH values.