A Multispecies Pseudoadiabat for Simulating Condensable-rich Exoplanet Atmospheres
Open Access
- 1 October 2021
- journal article
- research article
- Published by American Astronomical Society in The Planetary Science Journal
- Vol. 2 (5), 207
- https://doi.org/10.3847/psj/ac214c
Abstract
Central stages in the evolution of rocky, potentially habitable planets may play out under atmospheric conditions with a large inventory of nondilute condensable components. Variations in condensate retention and accompanying changes in local lapse rate may substantially affect planetary climate and surface conditions, but there is currently no general theory to effectively describe such atmospheres. In this article, expanding on the work by Li et al., we generalize the single-component moist pseudoadiabat derivation in Pierrehumbert to allow for multiple condensing components of arbitrary diluteness and retained condensate fraction. The introduction of a freely tunable retained condensate fraction allows for a flexible, self-consistent treatment of atmospheres with nondilute condensable components. To test the pseudoadiabat's capabilities for simulating a diverse range of climates, we apply the formula to planetary atmospheres with compositions, surface pressures, and temperatures representing important stages with condensable-rich atmospheres in the evolution of terrestrial planets: a magma ocean planet in a runaway greenhouse state; a post-impact, late-veneer-analog planet with a complex atmospheric composition; and an Archean Earth-like planet near the outer edge of the classical circumstellar habitable zone. We find that variations in the retention of multiple nondilute condensable species can significantly affect the lapse rate and in turn outgoing radiation and the spectral signatures of planetary atmospheres. The presented formulation allows for a more comprehensive treatment of the climate evolution of rocky exoplanets and early Earth analogs.Funding Information
- EC ∣ European Research Council (40963)
- Simons Foundation (611576)
- Alfred P. Sloan Foundation (G202114194)
This publication has 43 references indexed in Scilit:
- HABITABLE ZONES AROUND MAIN-SEQUENCE STARS: NEW ESTIMATESThe Astrophysical Journal, 2013
- Hydrogen-Nitrogen Greenhouse Warming in Earth's Early AtmosphereScience, 2013
- Development and recent evaluation of the MT_CKD model of continuum absorptionPhilosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences, 2012
- Magma Oceans in the Inner Solar SystemAnnual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences, 2012
- Clouds and the Faint Young Sun ParadoxClimate of the Past, 2011
- Collision-induced absorption coefficients of H2pairs at temperatures from 60 K to 1000 KAstronomy & Astrophysics, 2002
- High-temperature (1000–7000 K) collision-induced absorption of H2 pairs computed from the first principles, with application to cool and dense stellar atmospheresJournal of Quantitative Spectroscopy and Radiative Transfer, 2001
- Studies with a flexible new radiation code. I: Choosing a configuration for a large‐scale modelQuarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society, 1996
- Condensation of Methane, Ammonia, and Water and the Inhibition of Convection in Giant PlanetsScience, 1995
- Atmospheric and cloud structures of the Jovian planetsIcarus, 1973