Obliquity of an Earth-like planet from frequency modulation of its direct imaged lightcurve: mock analysis from general circulation model simulation

Direct-imaging techniques of exoplanets have made significant progress recently, and will eventually enable to monitor photometric and spectroscopic signals of earth-like habitable planets in the future. The presence of clouds, however, would remain as one of the most uncertain components in deciphering such direct-imaged signals of planets. We attempt to examine how the planetary obliquity produce different cloud patterns by performing a series of GCM (General Circulation Model) simulation runs using a set of parameters relevant for our Earth. Then we use the simulated photometric lightcurves to compute their frequency modulation due to the planetary spin-orbit coupling over an entire orbital period, and attempt to see to what extent one can estimate the obliquity of an Earth-twin. We find that it is possible to estimate the obliquity of an Earth-twin within the uncertainty of several degrees with a dedicated 4 m space telescope at 10 pc away from the system if the stellar flux is completely blocked. While our conclusion is based on several idealized assumptions, a frequency modulation of a directly-imaged earth-like planet offers a unique methodology to determine its obliquity.Comment: 29 pages, 18 figures, accepted for publication in Ap

The Aqua-Planet Experiment (APE): CONTROL SST Simulation

Climate simulations by 16 atmospheric general circulation models (AGCMs) are compared on an aqua-planet, a water-covered Earth with prescribed sea surface temperature varying only in latitude. The idealised configuration is designed to expose differences in the circulation simulated by different models. Basic features of the aqua-planet climate are characterised by comparison with Earth. The models display a wide range of behaviour. The balanced component of the tropospheric mean flow, and mid-latitude eddy covariances subject to budget constraints, vary relatively little among the models. In contrast, differences in damping in the dynamical core strongly influence transient eddy amplitudes. Historical uncertainty in modelled lower stratospheric temperatures persists in APE.Aspects of the circulation generated more directly by interactions between the resolved fluid dynamics and parameterized moist processes vary greatly. The tropical Hadley circulation forms either a single or double inter-tropical convergence zone (ITCZ) at the equator, with large variations in mean precipitation. The equatorial wave spectrum shows a wide range of precipitation intensity and propagation characteristics. Kelvin mode-like eastward propagation with remarkably constant phase speed dominates in most models. Westward propagation, less dispersive than the equatorial Rossby modes, dominates in a few models or occurs within an eastward propagating envelope in others. The mean structure of the ITCZ is related to precipitation variability, consistent with previous studies.The aqua-planet global energy balance is unknown but the models produce a surprisingly large range of top of atmosphere global net flux, dominated by differences in shortwave reflection by clouds. A number of newly developed models, not optimised for Earth climate, contribute to this. Possible reasons for differences in the optimised models are discussed.The aqua-planet configuration is intended as one component of an experimental hierarchy used to evaluate AGCMs. This comparison does suggest that the range of model behaviour could be better understood and reduced in conjunction with Earth climate simulations. Controlled experimentation is required to explore individual model behavior and investigate convergence of the aqua-planet climate with increasing resolution

Geochemistry of the Yakuno Ophiolite in Southwest Japan

The Yakuno ophiolite is exposed in the eastern part of the Maizuru Tectonic Belt which consists of ophiolite rocks. The Yakuno ophiolite is made up of ultramafic, mafic, intermediate, and felsic rocks which are regarded as the fragments of an ancient oceanic crust. Major element analyses (23 samples) and Sr isotope determinations (12 samples) were made for the representative rocks of the Yakuno ophiolite. The chemical features of the rocks and relict clinopyroxenes indicate that the ophiolite belongs to the tholeiitic rock series and shows a similarity to MORB in discrimination diagrams. However, the Yakuno ophiolite is much thicker than normal oceanic crust, and is associated with evolved rocks such as quartz diorite, granophyre and trondhjemite, but not with typical sheeted dyke complex. The Yakuno ophiolite is higher in normative plagioclase content and initial Sr isotope ratio (0.705092) than typical MORB. Hence, the Yakuno ophiolite resembles both ocean ridge and oceanic island basalts in magmatic nature, which suggests that it has been generated by oceanic island magmatism at an ocean ridge. The Rb-Sr isochron age of the Yakuno ophiolite was determined as 285 Ma, which is almost identical with those of other ophiolites from the Maizuru Tectonic Belt. So far as the available chemical data are concerned, the ophiolites from the Maizuru Tectonic Belt seem to have originated at various tectonic settings, i.e. oceanic island at ocean ridge, ocean ridge, island arc and marginal sea from east to west

H2O2-induced Greenhouse Warming on Oxidized Early Mars

The existence of liquid water within an oxidized environment on early Mars has been inferred by the Mn-rich rocks found during recent explorations on Mars. The oxidized atmosphere implied by the Mn-rich rocks would basically be comprised of CO2 and H2O without any reduced greenhouse gases such as H-2 and CH4. So far, however, it has been thought that early Mars could not have been warm enough to sustain water in liquid form without the presence of reduced greenhouse gases. Here, we propose that H2O2 could have been the gas responsible for warming the surface of the oxidized early Mars. Our one-dimensional atmospheric model shows that only 1 ppm of H2O2 is enough to warm the planetary surface because of its strong absorption at far-infrared wavelengths, in which the surface temperature could have reached over 273 K for a CO2 atmosphere with a pressure of 3 bar. A wet and oxidized atmosphere is expected to maintain sufficient quantities of H2O2 gas in its upper atmosphere due to its rapid photochemical production in slow condensation conditions. Our results demonstrate that a warm and wet environment could have been maintained on an oxidized early Mars, thereby suggesting that there may be connections between its ancient atmospheric redox state and possible aqueous environment

A Numerical Study of Convection in a Condensing CO2 Atmosphere under Early Mars-Like Conditions

Cloud convection of a CO2 atmosphere where the major constituent condenses is numerically investigated under a setup idealizing a possible warm atmosphere of early Mars, utilizing a two-dimensional cloud-resolving model forced by a fixed cooling profile as a substitute for a radiative process. The authors compare two cases with different critical saturation ratios as condensation criteria and also examine sensitivity to number mixing ratio of condensed particles given externally. When supersaturation is not necessary for condensation, the entire horizontal domain above the condensation level is continuously covered by clouds irrespective of number mixing ratio of condensed particles. Horizontal-mean cloud mass density decreases exponentially with height. The circulations below and above the condensation level are dominated by dry cellular convection and buoyancy waves, respectively. When 1.35 is adopted as the critical saturation ratio, clouds appear exclusively as intense, short-lived, quasi-periodic events. Clouds start just above the condensation level and develop upward, but intense updrafts exist only around the cloud top; they do not extend to the bottom of the condensation layer. The cloud layer is rapidly warmed by latent heat during the cloud events, and then the layer is slowly cooled by the specified thermal forcing, and supersaturation gradually develops leading to the next cloud event. The periodic appearance of cloud events does not occur when number mixing ratio of condensed particles is large

Development of a Line-by-Line and a Correlated k-Distribution Radiation Models for Planetary Atmospheres

A set of line-by-line and correlated k-distribution radiation models are developed aiming for applications in simulations and examinations of Venus and Mars-like planetary atmospheres. Our line-by-line model is validated by comparing the results with observations and those of previous studies under conditions of Venus, and present and possible early Mars. The radiation fields calculated by our line-by-line model agree well with observed pro-files and are within the acceptable range from those presented in previous studies. The results obtained by our line-by-line model are then processed to generate a series of parameters for our correlated k-distribution model. It is confirmed that the radiation fields calculated with those sets of parameters by our correlated k-distribution model sufficiently agree with those by our line-by-line model for the atmospheres with a wide range of surface pressure. By the use of our correlated k-distribution model implemented with those sets of parameters, we evalu-ate the radiation field for Venus and calculate radiative-convective equilibrium profiles for Venus and Mars. The obtained vertical thermal structures for Venus are qualitatively consistent with observations, and the behaviors of surface pressure and surface temperature for Mars are similar to those reported by previous studies. Those results demonstrate that our models including the procedure for generating tables of radiation parameters are applicable to examine climates of CO2 dominant atmospheres in our solar and exoplanetary systems