{"id":10016,"date":"2021-03-12T10:55:09","date_gmt":"2021-03-12T10:55:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/?p=10016"},"modified":"2021-03-12T10:55:09","modified_gmt":"2021-03-12T10:55:09","slug":"atmospheric-chemistry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/atmospheric-chemistry\/10016\/","title":{"rendered":"Rock weathering alters a planet\u2019s atmospheric chemistry"},"content":{"rendered":"

Swiss scientists are investigating how the weathering of rocks influences the climate and atmospheric chemistry of planets, altering their habitability.<\/h2>\n

The conditions on Earth are perfect to support life because its temperatures are neither too hot nor too cold and maintain liquid water. These factors depend on the atmospheric chemistry of the planet. Too little or too much of certain gases, such as carbon dioxide, and Earth could become uninhabitable. Therefore, when scientists look for potentially habitable planets, a key component is their atmosphere.<\/p>\n

On terrestrial planets like Mars, Venus, or Earth, primitive atmospheres are lost. Instead, their remaining atmospheres are strongly influenced by surface geochemistry. Processes like the weathering of rocks alter the composition the atmosphere and thereby influence the habitability of the planet.<\/p>\n

How rocks change our atmosphere<\/h3>\n

As published in The Planetary Science Journal<\/em><\/a>, a team of scientists, led by Kaustubh Hakim of the Centre for Space and Habitability (CSH) at the University of Bern and PlanetS, is investigating the role of atmospheric chemistry in increasing a planet\u2019s habitability.<\/p>\n

Hakim explains: \u201cWe want to understand how the chemical reactions between the atmosphere and the surface of planets change the composition of the atmosphere. On Earth, this process \u2013 the weathering of silicate rocks assisted by water \u2013 helps to maintain a temperate climate over long periods of time.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the concentration of CO2<\/sub> increases, temperatures also rise because of its greenhouse effect. Higher temperatures lead to more intense rainfall. Silicate weathering rates increase, which in turn reduce the CO2<\/sub> concentration and subsequently lower the temperature.\u201d<\/p>\n

Using computer simulations, the team tested how different conditions affect the weathering process. For example, they found that even in very arid climates, weathering can be more intense than on Earth if the chemical reactions occur sufficiently quickly. According to Hakim, rock types also influence the process and can lead to very different weathering rates. The team also found that at temperatures of around 70\u00b0C, contrary to popular theory, silicate weathering rates can decrease with rising temperatures.<\/p>\n

Implications for detecting habitable planets<\/h3>\n

If astronomers ever find a habitable planet<\/a>, it will likely be in what they call the \u2018Goldilocks Zone\u2019. This zone is the area around a star, where the dose of radiation would allow water to be liquid.<\/p>\n

Professor of astronomy and planetary sciences at the University of Bern and member of PlanetS, Kevin Heng, said: \u201cGeochemistry has a profound impact on the habitability of planets in the habitable zone.\u201d As the team\u2019s results indicate, increasing temperatures could reduce weathering and its balancing effect on other planets. What would potentially be a habitable world could turn out to be a hellish greenhouse instead.<\/p>\n

As Heng further explains, understanding geochemical processes under different conditions is not only important to estimate the potential for life, but also for its detection. Heng added: \u201cUnless we have some idea of the results of geochemical processes under varying conditions, we will not be able to tell whether bio-signatures \u2013 possible hints of life like the Phosphine that was found on Venus last year \u2013 indeed come from biological activity.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Scientists are investigating how the weathering of rocks influences the atmospheric chemistry of planets, altering their habitability.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":10019,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[771],"tags":[3478,763,3477],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nRock weathering alters a planet\u2019s atmospheric chemistry<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Scientists are investigating how the weathering of rocks influences the atmospheric chemistry of planets, altering their habitability.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/atmospheric-chemistry\/10016\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Rock weathering alters a planet\u2019s atmospheric chemistry\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Scientists are investigating how the weathering of rocks influences the atmospheric chemistry of planets, altering their habitability.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/atmospheric-chemistry\/10016\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Innovation News Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/InnoNewsNetwork\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-03-12T10:55:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/atmospheric-chemistry.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Caitlin Magee\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@InnoNewsNetwork\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@InnoNewsNetwork\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Caitlin Magee\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/atmospheric-chemistry\/10016\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/atmospheric-chemistry\/10016\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Caitlin Magee\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/#\/schema\/person\/5186ad57c79ad5162638977775a065d2\"},\"headline\":\"Rock weathering alters a planet\u2019s atmospheric chemistry\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-03-12T10:55:09+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-03-12T10:55:09+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/atmospheric-chemistry\/10016\/\"},\"wordCount\":519,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/atmospheric-chemistry\/10016\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/atmospheric-chemistry.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Atmospheric Science\",\"Chemistry\",\"Space Exploration\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Space\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/atmospheric-chemistry\/10016\/#respond\"]}],\"copyrightYear\":\"2021\",\"copyrightHolder\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/#organization\"}},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/atmospheric-chemistry\/10016\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/atmospheric-chemistry\/10016\/\",\"name\":\"Rock weathering alters a planet\u2019s atmospheric chemistry\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/atmospheric-chemistry\/10016\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/atmospheric-chemistry\/10016\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/atmospheric-chemistry.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-03-12T10:55:09+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-03-12T10:55:09+00:00\",\"description\":\"Scientists are investigating how the weathering of rocks influences the atmospheric chemistry of planets, altering their habitability.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/atmospheric-chemistry\/10016\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/atmospheric-chemistry\/10016\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/atmospheric-chemistry\/10016\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/atmospheric-chemistry.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/atmospheric-chemistry.jpg\",\"width\":1920,\"height\":1080,\"caption\":\"\u00a9iStock\/ Gwengoat\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/atmospheric-chemistry\/10016\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Rock weathering alters a planet\u2019s atmospheric chemistry\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/\",\"name\":\"Innovation News Network\",\"description\":\"Science, Research & Innovation News\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Innovation News Network\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/inn-logo-yoast-seo-organisation-1920-1080-001.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/inn-logo-yoast-seo-organisation-1920-1080-001.jpg\",\"width\":1920,\"height\":1080,\"caption\":\"Innovation News Network\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/InnoNewsNetwork\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/InnoNewsNetwork\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/innovation-news-network\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/#\/schema\/person\/5186ad57c79ad5162638977775a065d2\",\"name\":\"Caitlin Magee\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9317ff5b599c1691af439d8adbf8433d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9317ff5b599c1691af439d8adbf8433d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Caitlin Magee\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/author\/caitlinmagee\/\"}]}<\/script>\n","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Rock weathering alters a planet\u2019s atmospheric chemistry","description":"Scientists are investigating how the weathering of rocks influences the atmospheric chemistry of planets, altering their habitability.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/atmospheric-chemistry\/10016\/","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"Rock weathering alters a planet\u2019s atmospheric chemistry","og_description":"Scientists are investigating how the weathering of rocks influences the atmospheric chemistry of planets, altering their habitability.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/atmospheric-chemistry\/10016\/","og_site_name":"Innovation News Network","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/InnoNewsNetwork","article_published_time":"2021-03-12T10:55:09+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1920,"height":1080,"url":"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/atmospheric-chemistry.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Caitlin Magee","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@InnoNewsNetwork","twitter_site":"@InnoNewsNetwork","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Caitlin Magee","Estimated reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/atmospheric-chemistry\/10016\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/atmospheric-chemistry\/10016\/"},"author":{"name":"Caitlin Magee","@id":"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/#\/schema\/person\/5186ad57c79ad5162638977775a065d2"},"headline":"Rock weathering alters a planet\u2019s atmospheric chemistry","datePublished":"2021-03-12T10:55:09+00:00","dateModified":"2021-03-12T10:55:09+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/atmospheric-chemistry\/10016\/"},"wordCount":519,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/atmospheric-chemistry\/10016\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/atmospheric-chemistry.jpg","keywords":["Atmospheric Science","Chemistry","Space Exploration"],"articleSection":["Space"],"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/atmospheric-chemistry\/10016\/#respond"]}],"copyrightYear":"2021","copyrightHolder":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/#organization"}},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/atmospheric-chemistry\/10016\/","url":"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/atmospheric-chemistry\/10016\/","name":"Rock weathering alters a planet\u2019s atmospheric chemistry","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/atmospheric-chemistry\/10016\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/atmospheric-chemistry\/10016\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/atmospheric-chemistry.jpg","datePublished":"2021-03-12T10:55:09+00:00","dateModified":"2021-03-12T10:55:09+00:00","description":"Scientists are investigating how the weathering of rocks influences the atmospheric chemistry of planets, altering their habitability.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/atmospheric-chemistry\/10016\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/atmospheric-chemistry\/10016\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/atmospheric-chemistry\/10016\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/atmospheric-chemistry.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/atmospheric-chemistry.jpg","width":1920,"height":1080,"caption":"\u00a9iStock\/ Gwengoat"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/atmospheric-chemistry\/10016\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Rock weathering alters a planet\u2019s atmospheric chemistry"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/","name":"Innovation News Network","description":"Science, Research & Innovation News","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/#organization","name":"Innovation News Network","url":"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/inn-logo-yoast-seo-organisation-1920-1080-001.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/inn-logo-yoast-seo-organisation-1920-1080-001.jpg","width":1920,"height":1080,"caption":"Innovation News Network"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/InnoNewsNetwork","https:\/\/x.com\/InnoNewsNetwork","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/innovation-news-network\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/#\/schema\/person\/5186ad57c79ad5162638977775a065d2","name":"Caitlin Magee","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9317ff5b599c1691af439d8adbf8433d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9317ff5b599c1691af439d8adbf8433d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Caitlin Magee"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com"],"url":"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/author\/caitlinmagee\/"}]}},"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2025-02-07 13:53:56","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10016"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10016"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10016\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10020,"href":"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10016\/revisions\/10020"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10019"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10016"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10016"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10016"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}