Hot climates can stop stratigraphic creation

A new study of possible relationships between climate and geophysics on Earth and similar planets has found that the heat of a prolonged atmosphere can prevent stratigraphic tectonics and make Earth's shell is 'locked' .

The main researcher Adrian Lenardic, associate professor of earth science at Rice University, said, 'The heat needed is far beyond anything we expect from child climate change. cause, but things like volcanic activity and the change in the brightness of the sun can lead to this heat. Our goal is to establish a higher natural level of climate change that, above this limit, the entire planet will react. '

Associate Professor Lenardic said the team wanted to better understand the difference between Earth and Venus and set up a series of conditions that could exist on earth-like planets outside the solar system. This research can be viewed online in Earth and Planetary Science Letters.

These new findings may explain why Venus (the image was obtained by using radar to see through thick clouds and drawing out a copy of Venus's surface) that is different from Earth (Photos: NASA / JPL)

These findings may explain why Venus is different from Earth. These two planets are nearly identical in size and geography, but Venus's rich carbon dioxide environment weighs nearly 100 times the Earth's environment and acts like a coating. As a result, Venus's surface temperature is hotter than Mercury's - the closest to the Sun.

'We found that Earth's tectonic plate formation could become unstable if the surface temperature rises to 100 degrees F or more for several million years,' said Lenardic. 'Time and temperature rise, while too much for humans, do not exceed the normal range on geological scale, especially compared to what scientists previously thought needed. Yes to affect the geodynamics of a planet. '

Most people think that stratigraphic tectonics is not only stable but also self-regulating, but that view is based on the assumption that excess temperature from the earth's mantle can effectively emit the earth's crust fruit. The pressure created from the floating coat helps keep the geological disc moving and the coat can become less sticky if it heats up. These new findings suggest that the long-term warming of the planet's shell through rising atmospheric temperatures can heat the planet's interior depth and stop geological disk movement.

The surface of Venus, does not show the external signs of tectonic activity, is born dry and is full of volcanic "scars" . Scientists have long believed that Venus shells, which lack water to help lubricate geological boundaries, are too solid for effective stratigraphic creation.

One of the most important findings in the new study is that the warming of the atmosphere needed to stop the formation of strata is significantly less than the critical temperature that surpasses this natural water temperature. Can exist on the surface of the earth.

The research was funded by the National Science Foundation and the Canadian Advanced Research Institute