SPACE — Many argue that climate change is the greatest threat facing humanity. Our neighboring planet, Venus, can provide valuable insight into the potential impact of such a disaster.
The prospect of increasing CO2 gas causing a greenhouse effect, which threatens life on our home planet, is frightening. From here, we can learn from Venus, a planet that has an extreme climate with a concentrated greenhouse gas content.
Astronomy has various ways to help protect the Earth, one of which is launching climate change monitoring satellites. Scientists can also study the history of other planets to understand the formation of the habitable worlds we see today.
For example, Mars used to be wetter and similar to Earth. Meanwhile, Venus is another planet that can provide important information about climate change.
Venus is a hellish world: hot, poisonous. Never mind humans, there even robotic rovers would have difficulty functioning. So, what can Venus’ atmosphere teach us about Earth, climate change and how we can take better care of our planet?
Martin Turbet, a scientific researcher for France’s Center National de la Recherche Scientifique at the University of Geneva, tried to answer these questions. He focuses on how Venus can provide insight into the conditions in which a planet is trapped in conditions of excessive greenhouse gases.
Like all planets, Venus also undergoes evolution. The evolution of Venus began in a hot and molten state.
As time goes by, these planets emit radiation into space and cool. At one time, Venus may have had a liquid ocean. This liquid ocean likely formed from water vapor in the early stages of its evolution, condensing on the planet’s surface and turning into liquid.
Martin used a Three-Dimensional Global Climate Model to simulate all aspects of Venus’ atmosphere, including the interaction of gases and clouds with sunlight, as well as atmospheric rotation. This simulation provides a picture of a cloudless atmosphere in areas of Venus exposed to direct sunlight, and with clouds forming mainly at the poles and on the night side of the planet.
This cloud distribution creates strong heating through the greenhouse effect, preventing liquid water from forming on the surface of Venus. Conditions that may have existed since the beginning of the planet’s development.
Martin stated that if the Earth ever became too warm, this could trigger an excessive greenhouse effect that would result in the evaporation of the oceans from the surface and into the atmosphere. This process took quite a long time during the evolution of the Earth.
“Our findings suggest that Earth’s insolation, the amount of solar radiation a planet receives on its surface, may be the key reason why Earth avoided a similar fate as Venus,” Martin said, as reported by Sky AT Night Magazine.
Low insolation allowed Earth to condense its oceans early in its formation. The only way water can condense on the Earth’s surface or not be lost on the surface is by reducing the amount of solar radiation received by the planet.
Four billion years ago, Earth experienced a period of the “Faint Young Sun paradox,” during which the Sun’s brightness was lower, producing conditions that allowed Earth to condense its oceans.
2024-01-15 00:30:00
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