Genesis of a CO
            2
            -rich and H
            2
            O-depleted atmosphere from Earth’s early global magma ocean

Natalia V. Solomatova; Razvan Caracas

doi:10.1126/sciadv.abj0406

Genesis of a CO 2 -rich and H 2 O-depleted atmosphere from Earth’s early global magma ocean

Science Advances ◽

10.1126/sciadv.abj0406 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 7 (41) ◽

Author(s):

Natalia V. Solomatova ◽

Razvan Caracas

Keyword(s):

Magma Ocean

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Effect of crustal porosity on lunar magma ocean solidification

Acta Geochimica ◽

10.1007/s11631-020-00449-9 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Mingming Zhang ◽

Yingkui Xu ◽

Xiongyao Li

Keyword(s):

Magma Ocean

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Exploring super-Earth surfaces: Albedo of near-airless magma ocean planets and topography

Icarus ◽

10.1016/j.icarus.2020.114175 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 114175

Author(s):

Darius Modirrousta-Galian ◽

Yuichi Ito ◽

Giuseppina Micela

Keyword(s):

Magma Ocean

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Modelling the atmosphere of lava planet K2-141b: implications for low- and high-resolution spectroscopy

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society ◽

10.1093/mnras/staa2487 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 499 (4) ◽

pp. 4605-4612

Author(s):

T Giang Nguyen ◽

Nicolas B Cowan ◽

Agnibha Banerjee ◽

John E Moores

Keyword(s):

Steady State ◽

Ocean Circulation ◽

Scale Height ◽

High Resolution Spectroscopy ◽

Return Flow ◽

High Dispersion ◽

Magma Ocean ◽

Steady State Flow ◽

Wide Range ◽

Very High

ABSTRACT Transit searches have uncovered Earth-size planets orbiting so close to their host star that their surface should be molten, so-called lava planets. We present idealized simulations of the atmosphere of lava planet K2-141b and calculate the return flow of material via circulation in the magma ocean. We then compare how pure Na, SiO, or SiO2 atmospheres would impact future observations. The more volatile Na atmosphere is thickest followed by SiO and SiO2, as expected. Despite its low vapour pressure, we find that a SiO2 atmosphere is easier to observe via transit spectroscopy due to its greater scale height near the day–night terminator and the planetary radial velocity and acceleration are very high, facilitating high dispersion spectroscopy. The special geometry that arises from very small orbits allows for a wide range of limb observations for K2-141b. After determining the magma ocean depth, we infer that the ocean circulation required for SiO steady-state flow is only 10−4 m s−1, while the equivalent return flow for Na is several orders of magnitude greater. This suggests that a steady-state Na atmosphere cannot be sustained and that the surface will evolve over time.

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