The faint young sun climatic paradox: A simulation with an interactive seasonal climate-sea ice model

Gérard, Julie; Hauglustaine, Didier; François, Louis

doi:10.1016/0031-0182(92)90206-k

Cited by 12 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…While earlier models placed the critical luminosity threshold at 2 − 5% below the presentday value for modern continental configuration [Budyko, 1969;Sellers, 1969;Gérard et al, 1992], later studies with more sophisticated models found values of 10 − 15% and up to 18% for global ocean conditions [Jenkins, 1993;Longdoz and François, 1997]. Differences in critical luminosity between energy-balance models can be attributed to the sensitivity of the ice line to the parametrization of meridional heat transport [Held and Suarez , 1975;Lindzen and Farrell, 1977;Ikeda and Tajika, 1999], to geography [Crowley and Baum, 1993] and to the question whether the climate model is coupled to a dynamic ice-sheet model or not [Hyde et al, 2000].…”

Section: Evidence For Liquid Water On Early Earthmentioning

confidence: 90%

“…The lower albedo due to the smaller continental area has been suggested several times as an important factor for the energy budget of the Archean climate [Schatten and Endal, 1982;Cogley and Henderson-Sellers, 1984;Gérard et al, 1992;Jenkins et al, 1993;Molnar and Gutowski , 1995;Rosing et al, 2010]. It can be easily shown, however, that the effect of a lower surface albedo alone is insufficient to offset the decrease in solar radiation during the Archean [Walker , 1982;Kuhn et al, 1989].…”

Section: Continental Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

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The faint young Sun problem

Feulner

2012

Reviews of Geophysics

311

212

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[1] For more than four decades, scientists have been trying to find an answer to one of the most fundamental questions in paleoclimatology, the "faint young Sun problem." For the early Earth, models of stellar evolution predict a solar energy input to the climate system that is about 25% lower than today. This would result in a completely frozen world over the first 2 billion years in the history of our planet if all other parameters controlling Earth's climate had been the same. Yet there is ample evidence for the presence of liquid surface water and even life in the Archean (3.8 to 2.5 billion years before present), so some effect (or effects) must have been compensating for the faint young Sun. A wide range of possible solutions have been suggested and explored during the last four decades, with most studies focusing on higher concentrations of atmospheric greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide, methane, or ammonia. All of these solutions present considerable difficulties, however, so the faint young Sun problem cannot be regarded as solved. Here I review research on the subject, including the latest suggestions for solutions of the faint young Sun problem and recent geochemical constraints on the composition of Earth's early atmosphere. Furthermore, I will outline the most promising directions for future research. In particular I would argue that both improved geochemical constraints on the state of the Archean climate system and numerical experiments with state-of-the-art climate models are required to finally assess what kept the oceans on the Archean Earth from freezing over completely.

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Section: Evidence For Liquid Water On Early Earthmentioning

confidence: 90%

Section: Continental Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

The faint young Sun problem

Feulner

2012

Reviews of Geophysics

311

212

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“…This results from the fact that the radiative effect of water strongly varies with temperature as its phase changes, inducing strong feedbacks [61]. For instance, slightly 'moving' a planet like the Earth away from the Sun induces a strong climate instability because of the process of 'runaway glaciation': a lower solar flux decreases the surface temperatures, and thus increases the snow and ice cover, leading to higher surface albedos which tend to further decrease the surface temperature [101][102][103]. The Earth would become completely frozen (and several tens of degrees colder on average) if moved away from the Sun beyond a threshold distance which is highly model-dependent, but probably close to the present orbit (5-15% further from the Sun).…”

Section: Climate Instability and Feedbacks (A) Runaway Glaciation And Runaway Greenhouse Effectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Possible climates on terrestrial exoplanets

Forget

Leconte

2014

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A.

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What kind of environment may exist on terrestrial planets around other stars? In spite of the lack of direct observations, it may not be premature to speculate on exoplanetary climates, for instance to optimize future telescopic observations, or to assess the probability of habitable worlds. To first order, climate primarily depends on 1) The atmospheric composition and the volatile inventory; 2) The incident stellar flux; 3) The tidal evolution of the planetary spin, which can notably lock a planet with a permanent night side. The atmospheric composition and mass depends on complex processes which are difficult to model: origins of volatile, atmospheric escape, geochemistry, photochemistry. We discuss physical constraints which can help us to speculate on the possible type of atmosphere, depending on the planet size, its final distance for its star and the star type. Assuming that the atmosphere is known, the possible climates can be explored using Global Climate Models analogous to the ones developed to simulate the Earth as well as the other telluric atmospheres in the solar system. Our experience with Mars, Titan and Venus suggests that realistic climate simulators can be developed by combining components like a "dynamical core", a radiative transfer solver, a parametrisation of subgrid-scale turbulence and convection, a thermal ground model, and a volatile phase change code. On this basis, we can aspire to build reliable climate predictors for exoplanets. However, whatever the accuracy of the models, predicting the actual climate regime on a specific planet will remain challenging because climate systems are affected by strong positive destabilizing feedbacks (such as runaway glaciations and runaway greenhouse effect). They can drive planets with very similar forcing and volatile inventory to completely different states.Comment: In press, Proceedings of the Royal Society A 31 pages, 6 figure

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“…Energy balance models have extensively considered the effect of a decrease in solar luminosity on the climate of the Earth (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7). With the present atmospheric composition, a decrease in luminosity of only a few percent would result in a totally ice-covered ocean, and because of a planetary albedo near that of ice, global surface temperatures would be less than -40'C.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact melting of frozen oceans on the early Earth: Implications for the origin of life

Bada

Bigham

Miller

1994

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

131

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Without sufficient greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, the early Earth would have become a permanently frozen planet because the young Sun was less luminous than it is today. Several resolutions to this faint young Sun-frozen Earth paradox have been proposed, with an atmosphere rich in CO2 being the one generally favored. However, these models assume that there were no mechanisms for melting a once frozen ocean. Here we show that bolide impacts between about 3.6 and 4.0 billion years ago could have episodically melted an ice-covered early ocean. Thaw-freeze cycles associated with bolide impacts could have been important for the initiation of abiotic reactions that gave rise to the first living organisms.

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The faint young sun climatic paradox: A simulation with an interactive seasonal climate-sea ice model

Cited by 12 publications

References 45 publications

The faint young Sun problem

The faint young Sun problem

Possible climates on terrestrial exoplanets

Impact melting of frozen oceans on the early Earth: Implications for the origin of life

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