Atmospheric studies of habitability in the Gliese 581 system

The M-type star Gliese 581 is orbited by at least one terrestrial planet candidate in the habitable zone, i.e. GL 581 d. Orbital simulations have shown that additional planets inside the habitable zone of GL 581 would be dynamically stable. Recently, two further planet candidates have been claimed, one of them in the habitable zone. In view of the ongoing search for planets around M stars which is expected to result in numerous detections of potentially habitable Super-Earths, we take the GL 581 system as an example to investigate such planets. In contrast to previous studies of habitability in the GL 581 system, we use a consistent atmospheric model to assess surface conditions and habitability. Furthermore, we perform detailed atmospheric simulations for a much larger subset of potential planetary and atmospheric scenarios than previously considered. A 1D radiative-convective atmosphere model is used to calculate temperature and pressure profiles of model atmospheres, which we assumed to be composed of molecular nitrogen, water, and carbon dioxide. In these calculations, key parameters such as surface pressure and CO2 concentration as well as orbital distance and planetary mass are varied. Results imply that surface temperatures above freezing could be obtained, independent of the here considered atmospheric scenarios, at an orbital distance of 0.117 AU. For an orbital distance of 0.146 AU, CO2 concentrations as low as 10 times the present Earth's value are sufficient to warm the surface above the freezing point of water. At 0.175 AU, only scenarios with CO2 concentrations of 5% and 95% were found to be habitable. Hence, an additional Super-Earth planet in the GL 581 system in the previously determined dynamical stability range would be considered a potentially habitable planet.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, accepted in Astronomy&Astrophysic

The extrasolar planet Gliese 581 d: a potentially habitable planet? (Corrigendum to arXiv:1009.5814)

We report here that the equation for H2O Rayleigh scattering was incorrectly stated in the original paper [arXiv:1009.5814]. Instead of a quadratic dependence on refractivity r, we accidentally quoted an r^4 dependence. Since the correct form of the equation was implemented into the model, scientific results are not affected.Comment: accepted to Astronomy&Astrophysic

Melting of a Two-component Source beneath Iceland

New trace element and Hf-Nd isotope data on post-glacial basalts from Iceland's main rift zones are used in conjunction with literature data to evaluate the relative importance of source heterogeneity and the melting process for the final melt composition. Correlations between Hf and Nd isotope compositions and trace element ratios indicate that at least two source components are sampled systematically as a function of the degree and pressure of melting beneath Iceland. Strong depletion in Rb, Ba, U and Th and enrichment in Nb and Ta compared with La in the most enriched samples from the Reykjanes Peninsula and Western Rift Zone suggests that the enriched source component is similar to ancient recycled enriched mid-ocean ridge basalt (E-MORB) crust. Highly incompatible trace element ratios such as Nb/La and Nb/U and Pb isotope ratios are variable across Iceland. This observation suggests that either the enriched component is intrinsically heterogeneous, or that there is a larger proportion of the enriched source component beneath the Southwestern Rift Zone compared with the Northern Rift Zone. The relative effect of source heterogeneity and melting on the final melt composition was evaluated with a one-dimensional polybaric melt mixing model in which accumulated melts from a depleted MORB mantle and a recycled E-MORB crust are mixed in different ways. Two styles of melt mixing were simulated: (1) complete mixing of melts with variable proportions of the depleted mantle and recycled E-MORB components; (2) incomplete mixing with a fixed initial proportion of the two source components. Calculated pressure-dependent compositional changes using these simple two-component melting models can explain the observed trends in trace element ratio and isotope ratio diagrams for Icelandic basalts, even in cases where conventional binary mixing models would require more than two source components. The example of Iceland demonstrates that melt mixing during extraction from the mantle is a key process for controlling the trace element and isotope variability observed in basaltic lavas and must be evaluated before inferring the presence of multiple source component

The unstable CO2 feedback cycle on ocean planets

Ocean planets are volatile-rich planets, not present in our Solar system, which are thought to be dominated by deep, global oceans. This results in the formation of high-pressure water ice, separating the planetary crust from the liquid ocean and, thus, also from the atmosphere. Therefore, instead of a carbonate-silicate cycle like on the Earth, the atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration is governed by the capability of the ocean to dissolve carbon dioxide (CO2). In our study, we focus on the CO2 cycle between the atmosphere and the ocean which determines the atmospheric CO2 content. The atmospheric amount of CO2 is a fundamental quantity for assessing the potential habitability of the planet's surface because of its strong greenhouse effect, which determines the planetary surface temperature to a large degree. In contrast to the stabilizing carbonate-silicate cycle regulating the long-term CO2 inventory of the Earth atmosphere, we find that the CO2 cycle feedback on ocean planets is negative and has strong destabilizing effects on the planetary climate. By using a chemistry model for oceanic CO2 dissolution and an atmospheric model for exoplanets, we show that the CO2 feedback cycle can severely limit the extension of the habitable zone for ocean planet

Clouds in the atmospheres of extrasolar planets. I. Climatic effects of multi-layered clouds for Earth-like planets and implications for habitable zones

The effects of multi-layered clouds in the atmospheres of Earth-like planets orbiting different types of stars are studied. The radiative effects of cloud particles are directly correlated with their wavelength-dependent optical properties. Therefore the incident stellar spectra may play an important role for the climatic effect of clouds. We discuss the influence of clouds with mean properties measured in the Earth's atmosphere on the surface temperatures and Bond albedos of Earth-like planets orbiting different types of main sequence dwarf stars.Comment: accepted for publication in A&

Genetic dissection of photoperiod response based on GWAS of pre-anthesis phase duration in spring barley

Heading time is a complex trait, and natural variation in photoperiod responses is a major factor controlling time to heading, adaptation and grain yield. In barley, previous heading time studies have been mainly conducted under field conditions to measure total days to heading. We followed a novel approach and studied the natural variation of time to heading in a world-wide spring barley collection (218 accessions), comprising of 95 photoperiod-sensitive (Ppd-H1) and 123 accessions with reduced photoperiod sensitivity (ppd-H1) to long-day (LD) through dissecting pre-anthesis development into four major stages and sub-phases. The study was conducted under greenhouse (GH) conditions (LD; 16/8 h; ∼20/∼16°C day/night). Genotyping was performed using a genome-wide high density 9K single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) chip which assayed 7842 SNPs. We used the barley physical map to identify candidate genes underlying genome-wide association scans (GWAS). GWAS for pre-anthesis stages/sub-phases in each photoperiod group provided great power for partitioning genetic effects on floral initiation and heading time. In addition to major genes known to regulate heading time under field conditions, several novel QTL with medium to high effects, including new QTL having major effects on developmental stages/sub-phases were found to be associated in this study. For example, highly associated SNPs tagged the physical regions around HvCO1 (barley CONSTANS1) and BFL (BARLEY FLORICAULA/LEAFY) genes. Based upon our GWAS analysis, we propose a new genetic network model for each photoperiod group, which includes several newly identified genes, such as several HvCO-like genes, belonging to different heading time pathways in barley