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Cited by 299Space Science and Extraterrestrial LifeStellar, planetary, and galactic studiesAstro and Planetary Science

Habitable Zone Limits for Dry Planets

Abe, Yutaka, Abe-Ouchi, Ayako, Sleep, Norman H., Zahnle, Kevin J.·2011·Astrobiology
DOI 10.1089/ast.2010.0545
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Abstract

Most discussion of habitable planets has focused on Earth-like planets with globally abundant liquid water. For an “aqua planet” like Earth, the surface freezes if far from its sun, and the water vapor greenhouse effect runs away if too close. Here we show that “land planets” (desert worlds with limited surface water) have wider habitable zones than aqua planets. For planets at the inner edge of the habitable zone, a land planet has two advantages over an aqua planet: (i) the tropics can emit longwave radiation at rates above the traditional runaway limit because the air is unsaturated and (ii) the dry air creates a dry stratosphere that limits hydrogen escape. At the outer limits of the habitable zone, the land planet better resists global freezing because there is less water for clouds, snow, and ice. Here we describe a series of numerical experiments using a simple three-dimensional global climate model for Earth-sized planets. Other things (CO 2 , rotation rate, surface pressure) unchanged, we found that liquid water remains stable at the poles of a low-obliquity land planet until net insolation exceeds 415 W/m 2 (170% that of modern Earth), compared to 330 W/m 2 (135%) for the aqua planet. At the outer limits, we found that a low-obliquity land planet freezes at 77%, while the aqua planet freezes at 90%. High-obliquity land and aqua planets freeze at 58% and 72%, respectively, with the poles offering the last refuge. We show that it is possible that, as the Sun brightens, an aqua planet like Earth can lose most of its hydrogen and become a land planet without first passing through a sterilizing runaway greenhouse. It is possible that Venus was a habitable land planet as recently as 1 billion years ago. Key Words: Venus—Habitable zone—Extrasolar terrestrial planets—Water—Planetary atmospheres. Astrobiology 11, 443–460.

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  • Another alternative habitable zone definition suggested by Abe et al. (2011) is based on a habitable, though "dry," planet with significantly less water than Earth; in this case, the habitable zone is 3 times wider than the above definition where a "wet" Earth-like planet is the standard for habitability.

    “Another alternative habitable zone definition suggested by Abe et al. (2011) is based on a habitable, though “dry,” planet with significantly less water than Earth. In this case, the habitable zone is 3 times wider than the above definition where a “wet” Earth-like planet is the standard for habitability.”

    From The Astrobiology Primer v2.0 (2016) · cites this paper as Abe et al. (2011)

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Authors
Abe, Y., Abe-Ouchi, A., Sleep, N. H., & Zahnle, K. J.
Affiliations
  • The University of Tokyo (JP)
  • University of Tokyo
  • Stanford University (US)
  • Ames Research Center (US)
Corresponding author
Zahnle, Kevin J.
ORCID
Venue
Astrobiology
Publisher
SAGE Publications
Published
2011-06
Volume
11
Issue
5
Pages
443-460
ISSN
  • 1531-1074 (ISSN-L)
  • 1557-8070
DOI
10.1089/ast.2010.0545
OpenAlex
W2064065475
Cited by
298
References
46
Citations by year
2026: 9 · 2025: 11 · 2024: 12 · 2023: 16 · 2022: 23 · 2021: 15 · 2020: 19 · 2019: 24 · 2018: 51 · 2017: 20 · 2016: 30 · 2015: 14 · 2014: 16 · 2013: 24 · 2012: 8
FWCI
9.01
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
journals.sagepub.com/page/policies/text-and-data-mining-license (tdm)
Locations
  • Astrobiology (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (23103003)
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
habitable zone, aquaplanet, runaway greenhouse, surface water, obliquity, Earth-sized planets, climate models
MeSH terms
Desiccation, Extraterrestrial Environment, Humidity, Ice, Seasons, Temperature, Time Factors, Water, Planets, Venus, Exobiology

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