Evolution of the iodine cycle and the late stabilization of the Earth's ozone layer.

The origin of complex life and the evolution of terrestrial ecosystems are fundamental aspects of the natural history on Earth. Here, we present evidence for a protracted stabilization of the Earth's ozone layer. The destruction of atmospheric ozone today is inherently linked to the cycling of marine and atmospheric iodine.

Triple oxygen isotope constraints on atmospheric O and biological productivity during the mid-Proterozoic.

Reconstructing the history of biological productivity and atmospheric oxygen partial pressure (O) is a fundamental goal of geobiology. Recently, the mass-independent fractionation of oxygen isotopes (O-MIF) has been used as a tool for estimating O and productivity during the Proterozoic. O-MIF, reported as Δ'O, is produced during the formation of ozone and destroyed by isotopic exchange with water by biological and chemical processes.

Oxidized micrometeorites suggest either high CO or low N during the Neoarchean.

Tomkins et al. [A. G.

Nitrous oxide from chemodenitrification: A possible missing link in the Proterozoic greenhouse and the evolution of aerobic respiration.

The potent greenhouse gas nitrous oxide (N O) may have been an important constituent of Earth's atmosphere during Proterozoic (~2.5-0.5 Ga).

Could Cirrus Clouds Have Warmed Early Mars?

The presence of the ancient valley networks on Mars indicates that the climate at 3.8 Ga was warm enough to allow substantial liquid water to flow on the martian surface for extended periods of time. However, the mechanism for producing this warming continues to be debated.

LIMIT CYCLES CAN REDUCE THE WIDTH OF THE HABITABLE ZONE.

The liquid water habitable zone (HZ) describes the orbital distance at which a terrestrial planet can maintain above-freezing conditions through regulation by the carbonate-silicate cycle. Recent calculations have suggested that planets in the outer regions of the HZ cannot maintain stable, warm climates, but rather should oscillate between long, globally glaciated states and shorter periods of climatic warmth. Such conditions, similar to "Snowball Earth" episodes experienced on Earth, would be inimical to the development of complex land life, including intelligent life.

Can increased atmospheric CO2 levels trigger a runaway greenhouse?

Recent one-dimensional (globally averaged) climate model calculations by Goldblatt et al. (2013) suggest that increased atmospheric CO(2) could conceivably trigger a runaway greenhouse on present Earth if CO(2) concentrations were approximately 100 times higher than they are today. The new prediction runs contrary to previous calculations by Kasting and Ackerman (1986), which indicated that CO(2) increases could not trigger a runaway, even at Venus-like CO(2) concentrations.

Remote life-detection criteria, habitable zone boundaries, and the frequency of Earth-like planets around M and late K stars.

The habitable zone (HZ) around a star is typically defined as the region where a rocky planet can maintain liquid water on its surface. That definition is appropriate, because this allows for the possibility that carbon-based, photosynthetic life exists on the planet in sufficient abundance to modify the planet's atmosphere in a way that might be remotely detected. Exactly what conditions are needed, however, to maintain liquid water remains a topic for debate.

Atmospheric production of glycolaldehyde under hazy prebiotic conditions.

The early Earth's atmosphere, with extremely low levels of molecular oxygen and an appreciable abiotic flux of methane, could have been a source of organic compounds necessary for prebiotic chemistry. Here, we investigate the formation of a key RNA precursor, glycolaldehyde (2-hydroxyacetaldehyde, or GA) using a 1-dimensional photochemical model. Maximum atmospheric production of GA occurs when the CH4:CO2 ratio is close to 0.

Tidal Venuses: triggering a climate catastrophe via tidal heating.

Traditionally, stellar radiation has been the only heat source considered capable of determining global climate on long timescales. Here, we show that terrestrial exoplanets orbiting low-mass stars may be tidally heated at high-enough levels to induce a runaway greenhouse for a long-enough duration for all the hydrogen to escape. Without hydrogen, the planet no longer has water and cannot support life.

The carbonate-silicate cycle and CO2/climate feedbacks on tidally locked terrestrial planets.

Atmospheric gaseous constituents play an important role in determining the surface temperatures and habitability of a planet. Using a global climate model and a parameterization of the carbonate-silicate cycle, we explored the effect of the location of the substellar point on the atmospheric CO(2) concentration and temperatures of a tidally locked terrestrial planet, using the present Earth continental distribution as an example. We found that the substellar point's location relative to the continents is an important factor in determining weathering and the equilibrium atmospheric CO(2) level.

Using biogenic sulfur gases as remotely detectable biosignatures on anoxic planets.

We used one-dimensional photochemical and radiative transfer models to study the potential of organic sulfur compounds (CS(2), OCS, CH(3)SH, CH(3)SCH(3), and CH(3)S(2)CH(3)) to act as remotely detectable biosignatures in anoxic exoplanetary atmospheres. Concentrations of organic sulfur gases were predicted for various biogenic sulfur fluxes into anoxic atmospheres and were found to increase with decreasing UV fluxes. Dimethyl sulfide (CH(3)SCH(3), or DMS) and dimethyl disulfide (CH(3)S(2)CH(3), or DMDS) concentrations could increase to remotely detectable levels, but only in cases of extremely low UV fluxes, which may occur in the habitable zone of an inactive M dwarf.

Availability of O(2) and H(2)O(2) on pre-photosynthetic Earth.

Old arguments that free O(2) must have been available at Earth's surface prior to the origin of photosynthesis have been revived by a new study that shows that aerobic respiration can occur at dissolved oxygen concentrations much lower than had previously been thought, perhaps as low as 0.05 nM, which corresponds to a partial pressure for O(2) of about 4 × 10(-8) bar. We used numerical models to study whether such O(2) concentrations might have been provided by atmospheric photochemistry.

The effect of a strong stellar flare on the atmospheric chemistry of an earth-like planet orbiting an M dwarf.

Main sequence M stars pose an interesting problem for astrobiology: their abundance in our galaxy makes them likely targets in the hunt for habitable planets, but their strong chromospheric activity produces high-energy radiation and charged particles that may be detrimental to life. We studied the impact of the 1985 April 12 flare from the M dwarf AD Leonis (AD Leo), simulating the effects from both UV radiation and protons on the atmospheric chemistry of a hypothetical, Earth-like planet located within its habitable zone. Based on observations of solar proton events and the Neupert effect, we estimated a proton flux associated with the flare of 5.

A revised, hazy methane greenhouse for the Archean Earth.

Geological and biological evidence suggests that Earth was warm during most of its early history, despite the fainter young Sun. Upper bounds on the atmospheric CO2 concentration in the Late Archean/Paleoproterozoic (2.8-2.

Palaeoclimatology: evidence for hot early oceans?

The oxygen isotopes in sedimentary cherts (siliceous sediments) have been used to argue that the Precambrian oceans were hot--with temperatures of up to 70 degrees C at 3.3 Gyr before present. Robert and Chaussidon measure silicon isotopes in cherts and arrive at a similar conclusion.