[PLS] Claire Guimond (ETH Zurich)

*Rescheduled from 2/24 snow closure

“Water versus land on temperate rocky planets”

Earth is the only known planet with both land and ocean surfaces in the present day. The co-existence of water and land may be necessary for long-term climate regulation, and is key to some origins of life scenarios. For better or worse, for many of us, this planetary state makes up the mental picture of an ‘Earth-like planet’. This talk will review the major physical processes that set a planet’s water/land ratio, discuss the implications of water/land ratios on climates and biospheres, and highlight future observatories potentially capable of detecting water or land on rocky exoplanets.

Sponsored by Professor Raymond Pierrehumbert.

Planetary Lunch Seminar —

Colloquia topics span the range of research interests of the department’s planetary sciences research program, and the talks are intended to appeal to any graduate students, postdocs, research scientists, and faculty with a background in planetary science. Speakers include members of the MIT community and visitors.

Contact: planetary-org@mit.edu