Why a Venus 2.0 could still be habitable today

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If it was not for a geological coup de chance, would Venus still be habitable today? And even more tempting, if Venus were terraformed in her current orbit, would she remain temperate?

The wave of news last week raises such questions about the possibility that Venus was once habitable over several billion years. However, this coverage has largely omitted a crucial point. In other words, the idea that Venus can still be just inside the inner edge of the habitable zone of our solar system where liquid water can exist on planetary surfaces.

The study at the origin of all titles revealed that without catastrophic geological resurfacing, Venus should still be livable. This is also what Michael Way, scientist in planetary science at NASA's Goddard Space Institute for Space Studies, who presented the findings at a joint meeting in Geneva of the American Planetary Science Division. Astronomical Society and the European Congress of Planetary Sciences.

"Venus currently emits nearly twice the solar radiation of the Earth. However, in all the scenarios we have modeled, we found that [it] could still withstand acceptable surface temperatures for liquid water, "Way said in a statement.

The reference line of the global scientific community on the history of the evolution of Venus has been until now: as the brightness of our Sun increased, the inner edge of the habitable zone of our solar system has expanded. And as it did, the potential of Venus as a possible habitable planet has diminished.

When our old Sun gained luminosity, the surface waters of Venus began to evaporate into the atmosphere. At the same time, the heat of the Earth's crust began to heat up, due to mantle convection and high surface temperatures.

This has resulted in increased pockets of volcanism and melting crust, "said Stephen Kane, a planetary scientist at the University of California, Riverside, who was not involved in the study.

The latter caused a gaseous release and a superficial melting of carbon dioxide, resulting in the reversal and fusion of the surface of Venus during an event (or event) that probably lasted several hundred million years.

In fact, Anthony Del Genio and fellow researchers at the Goddard Institute think that 750 million years ago, about 80% of Venus had resurfaced catastrophically. the the planet can still be in the habitable zone but the events that have resurfaced have probably changed its climate, "said Way. These events have warmed the planet and may have ended its period of recycling carbon in the earth's crust, he said.

But that's where Kane and Way differ.

According to current evidence, Kane believes that it is unlikely that these geological events caused climate change on Venus. He says that more likely, it is simply the proximity of Venus with an illuminating sun that has resulted in the planet's dramatic climate change, which then has consequences on its geology.

"I agree that Venus may well have had a temperate climate like [recently] a billion years ago, but I do not agree that resurfacing has caused climate catastrophe, "Kane said.

Way says that the closest analogy to this type of Venus that resurfaces here on Earth is in the lava flows of Deccan Traps in India. Some paleontologists believe that the giant impactor that would have resulted in the extinction of dinosaurs 66 million years ago has also triggered new global volcanic eruptions.

These eruptions of lava flows in what is now India may have even contributed to the extinction of the dinosaurs since they would have also dumped large amounts of carbon dioxide and other harmful gases into the Earth's atmosphere. .

On Venus, however, the idea is that this type of volcanic event had a magnitude greater and more dramatic than here.

"Something happened on Venus where a huge amount of gas was released into the atmosphere and could not be reabsorbed by the rocks," Way said in a statement. " He completely transformed Venus . "

If we were to replace the current Venus with a whole new terrestrial planet, with oceans and a sort of geological mechanism to recycle the carbon of the planet, this Venus 2.0 would probably remain habitable today, says Way. That is to say in its current orbit of 0.72 astronomical unit (Earth-Sun distances).

It is an idea that will never be adequately tested if our distant offspring do not decide to turn Venus into something that would support life as we know it. The first step would be to give Venus a temperate climate with a balanced mix of oceans and continents, then to wait and see if it remains livable.

Way remains convinced that he could. Today, Venus receives nearly twice the solar radiation from the Earth. But he says that a Venus 2.0 should still be able to maintain an average surface temperature of between 20 and 40 degrees Celsius, or just about what Southern Californians could expect at the height of the summer.

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If it was not for a geological coup de chance, would Venus still be habitable today? And even more tempting, if Venus were terraformed in her current orbit, would she remain temperate?

The wave of news last week raises such questions about the possibility that Venus was once habitable over several billion years. However, this coverage has largely omitted a crucial point. In other words, the idea that Venus can still be just inside the inner edge of the habitable zone of our solar system where liquid water can exist on planetary surfaces.

The study at the origin of all titles revealed that without catastrophic geological resurfacing, Venus should still be livable. This is also what Michael Way, scientist in planetary science at NASA's Goddard Space Institute for Space Studies, who presented the findings at a joint meeting in Geneva of the American Planetary Science Division. Astronomical Society and the European Congress of Planetary Sciences.

"Venus currently emits nearly twice the solar radiation of the Earth. However, in all the scenarios we have modeled, we found that [it] could still withstand acceptable surface temperatures for liquid water, "Way said in a statement.

The reference line of the global scientific community on the history of the evolution of Venus has been until now: as the brightness of our Sun increased, the inner edge of the habitable zone of our solar system has expanded. And as it did, the potential of Venus as a possible habitable planet has diminished.

When our old Sun gained luminosity, the surface waters of Venus began to evaporate into the atmosphere. At the same time, the heat of the Earth's crust began to heat up, due to mantle convection and high surface temperatures.

This has resulted in increased pockets of volcanism and melting crust, "said Stephen Kane, a planetary scientist at the University of California, Riverside, who was not involved in the study.

The latter caused a gaseous release and a superficial melting of carbon dioxide, resulting in the reversal and fusion of the surface of Venus during an event (or event) that probably lasted several hundred million years.

In fact, Anthony Del Genio and fellow researchers at the Goddard Institute think that 750 million years ago, about 80% of Venus had resurfaced catastrophically. the the planet can still be in the habitable zone but the events that have resurfaced have probably changed its climate, "said Way. These events have warmed the planet and may have ended its period of recycling carbon in the earth's crust, he said.

But that's where Kane and Way differ.

According to current evidence, Kane believes that it is unlikely that these geological events caused climate change on Venus. He says that more likely, it is simply the proximity of Venus with an illuminating sun that has resulted in the planet's dramatic climate change, which then has consequences on its geology.

"I agree that Venus may well have had a temperate climate like [recently] a billion years ago, but I do not agree that resurfacing has caused climate catastrophe, "Kane said.

Way says that the closest analogy to this type of Venus that resurfaces here on Earth is in the lava flows of Deccan Traps in India. Some paleontologists believe that the giant impactor that would have resulted in the extinction of dinosaurs 66 million years ago has also triggered new global volcanic eruptions.

These eruptions of lava flows in what is now India may have even contributed to the extinction of the dinosaurs since they would have also dumped large amounts of carbon dioxide and other harmful gases into the Earth's atmosphere. .

On Venus, however, the idea is that this type of volcanic event had a magnitude greater and more dramatic than here.

"Something happened on Venus where a huge amount of gas was released into the atmosphere and could not be reabsorbed by the rocks," Way said in a statement. " He completely transformed Venus . "

If we were to replace the current Venus with a whole new terrestrial planet, with oceans and a geological mechanism to recycle the carbon of the planet, this Venus 2.0 would probably remain habitable today, says Way. That is to say in its current orbit of 0.72 astronomical unit (Earth-Sun distances).

It is an idea that will never be adequately tested if our distant offspring do not decide to turn Venus into something that would support life as we know it. The first step would be to give Venus a temperate climate with a balanced mix of oceans and continents, then to wait and see if it remains livable.

Way remains convinced that he could. Today, Venus receives nearly twice the solar radiation from the Earth. But he says that a Venus 2.0 should still be able to maintain an average surface temperature of between 20 and 40 degrees Celsius, or just about what Southern Californians could expect at the height of the summer.