98%
921
2 minutes
20
Interactions between magma oceans and overlying atmospheres on young rocky planets leads to an evolving feedback of outgassing, greenhouse forcing, and mantle melt fraction. Previous studies have predominantly focused on the solidification of oxidized Earth-similar planets, but the diversity in mean density and irradiation observed in the low-mass exoplanet census motivate exploration of strongly varying geochemical scenarios. We aim to explore how variable redox properties alter the duration of magma ocean solidification, the equilibrium thermodynamic state, melt fraction of the mantle, and atmospheric composition. We develop a 1D coupled interior-atmosphere model that can simulate the time-evolution of lava planets. This is applied across a grid of fixed redox states, orbital separations, hydrogen endowments, and C/H ratios around a Sun-like star. The composition of these atmospheres is highly variable before and during solidification. The evolutionary path of an Earth-like planet at 1 AU ranges between permanent magma ocean states and solidification within 1 Myr. Recently solidified planets typically host - or -dominated atmospheres in the absence of escape. Orbital separation is the primary factor determining magma ocean evolution, followed by the total hydrogen endowment, mantle oxygen fugacity, and finally the planet's C/H ratio. Collisional absorption by induces a greenhouse effect which can prevent or stall magma ocean solidification. Through this effect, as well as the outgassing of other volatiles, geochemical properties exert significant control over the fate of magma oceans on rocky planets.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
---|---|
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11667094 | PMC |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2024JE008576 | DOI Listing |
Natl Sci Rev
August 2025
Oulu Mining School, University of Oulu, Oulu 90014, Finland.
Determining the composition, formation mechanisms and stability of the Hadean continental crust is essential for understanding the early geological history of Earth. Detrital zircons, largely from Jack Hills of Western Australia, provide the dominant direct records for the nature of continental crust during the Hadean eon and its formation processes. Although isotope and trace element compositions of these zircons are extensively determined, the major and trace element compositions of their host rocks and corresponding parental magmas remain largely debated, making the nature and evolution of the early Earth's crust ambiguous.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSci Adv
August 2025
NWU-HKU Joint Centre of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China.
Most of Earth's volcanic eruptions are hidden beneath the ocean in complete darkness. Recent studies suggested that a type of impulsive event can track submarine lava flows, but their source mechanism remains uncertain. We analyze >20,000 impulsive events from the 2015 Axial Seamount eruption and find that their seismo-acoustic waveform characteristics suggest an implosive source mechanism.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNat Commun
August 2025
Research Center for Earth and Planetary Material Sciences, School of Earth Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
The redox state of the sub-arc mantle impacts magma degassing at arc volcanoes and arc-related ore deposits. However, the evolution of the oxygen fugacity (fO) of the sub-arc mantle during the Neoproterozoic Oxygenation Event (NOE) remains poorly understood. Here, we applied machine learning to identify arc basalts, then calculated V/Sc ratios of primitive arc basalts since ~0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAstrobiology
August 2025
Department of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences, Rice University, Houston, Texas, USA.
The presence of major volatile elements-carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, and sulfur-on Earth is critical for establishing life. The origin of these life-essential volatile elements (LEVEs) on Earth has been studied for many years. Here, we present a brief compilation of the prevailing ideas regarding volatile delivery to Earth and evaluate their origins, strengths, and weaknesses.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSci Adv
August 2025
Department of Geology and Geoenvironment, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 15784 Athens, Greece.
Large explosive volcanic eruptions from island volcanoes deliver vast quantities of ash to the marine environment. While many of the transport pathways are understood, those from shoreline-crossing or submarine pyroclastic currents, and their transformation into water-supported gravity flows, remain poorly constrained. We report the discovery by International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) deep drilling of a 200-meter-thick ash megabed buried in rift basins of the South Aegean Volcanic Arc.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF