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Cited by 164Space Science and Extraterrestrial LifeStellar, planetary, and galactic studiesAstro and Planetary Science

HABITABLE CLIMATES: THE INFLUENCE OF OBLIQUITY

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Spiegel, David S., Menou, Kristen, Scharf, Caleb A.·2009·The Astrophysical Journal
DOI 10.1088/0004-637x/691/1/596
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Abstract

Extrasolar terrestrial planets with the potential to host life might have large obliquities or be subject to strong obliquity variations. We revisit the habitability of oblique planets with an energy balance climate model (EBM) allowing for dynamical transitions to ice-covered snowball states as a result of ice-albedo feedback. Despite the great simplicity of our EBM, it captures reasonably well the seasonal cycle of global energetic fluxes at Earth's surface. It also performs satisfactorily against a full-physics climate model of a highly oblique Earth-like planet, in an unusual regime of circulation dominated by heat transport from the poles to the equator. Climates on oblique terrestrial planets can violate global radiative balance through much of their seasonal cycle, which limits the usefulness of simple radiative equilibrium arguments. High obliquity planets have severe climates, with large amplitude seasonal variations, but they are not necessarily more prone to global snowball transitions than low obliquity planets. We find that terrestrial planets with massive CO 2 atmospheres, typically expected in the outer regions of habitable zones, can also be subject to such dynamical snowball transitions. Some of the snowball climates investigated for CO 2 -rich atmospheres experience partial atmospheric collapse. Since long-term CO 2 atmospheric build-up acts as a climatic thermostat for habitable planets, partial CO 2 collapse could limit the habitability of such planets. A terrestrial planet's habitability may thus sensitively depend on its short-term climatic stability.

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Crossref · 10.1088/0004-637x/691/1/596

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  • Planets with high obliquities may be habitable farther from their host stars, because this would cause the poles to be hit with large energy fluxes, which would suppress runaway glaciation at the outer edge of the habitable zone.

    “Planets with high obliquities (in other words, planets “turned on their sides”) may be habitable farther from their host stars, because this would cause the poles to be hit with large energy fluxes, which would suppress the runaway glaciation at the outer edge of the habitable zone (Spiegel et al., 2009; Armstrong et al., 2014).”

    From The Astrobiology Primer v2.0 (2016) · cites this paper as Spiegel et al., 2009

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Authors
Spiegel, D. S., Menou, K., & Scharf, C. A.
Affiliations
  • Princeton University (US)
  • Columbia University (US)
Corresponding author
Scharf, Caleb A.
ORCID
Scharf, Caleb A.
Venue
The Astrophysical Journal
Publisher
American Astronomical Society
Published
2009-01-16
Volume
691
Issue
1
Pages
596-610
ISSN
  • 0004-637X (ISSN-L)
  • 1538-4357
DOI
10.1088/0004-637x/691/1/596
OpenAlex
W1987364463
Cited by
164
References
45
Citations by year
2026: 3 · 2025: 10 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 7 · 2021: 5 · 2020: 7 · 2019: 11 · 2018: 31 · 2017: 6 · 2016: 10 · 2015: 7 · 2014: 9 · 2013: 9 · 2012: 9
FWCI
5.55
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • The Astrophysical Journal (publishedVersion)
  • arXiv (Cornell University) (submittedVersion)
  • arXiv (Cornell University)
Funders
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NNX07AG80G, NNG05GO79G)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Astronomy and Astrophysics › Space Science and Extraterrestrial Life
  • Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Astronomy and Astrophysics › Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies
  • Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Astronomy and Astrophysics › Astro and Planetary Science
Keywords
obliquity, habitability, ice-albedo feedback, energy balance model, seasonal climate variability, CO2 atmosphere, atmospheric collapse, radiation balance

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