Ocean Circulation on Tide-locked Lava Worlds. I. An Idealized 2D Numerical Model
A magma ocean is expected to exist on the dayside of tide-locked planets if surface temperature exceeds the melting temperature of typical crust. As highly prioritized targets for the James Webb Space Telescope, more information about the surface and atmosphere of lava planets will soon be available...
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IOP Publishing
2024-01-01
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| Series: | The Planetary Science Journal |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3847/PSJ/ad7111 |
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| author | Yanhong Lai Jun Yang Wanying Kang |
| author_facet | Yanhong Lai Jun Yang Wanying Kang |
| author_sort | Yanhong Lai |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | A magma ocean is expected to exist on the dayside of tide-locked planets if surface temperature exceeds the melting temperature of typical crust. As highly prioritized targets for the James Webb Space Telescope, more information about the surface and atmosphere of lava planets will soon be available. In most previous studies of lava planets, the system is typically assumed to be vigorously convecting and isentropic. This implies a magma ocean depth reaching ${ \mathcal O }$ (10 ^4 –10 ^5 ) m, determined by the adiabats and melting curves. In this study, we aim to simulate ocean circulation and ocean depth on tidally locked lava worlds using an idealized 2D ( x – z ) model developed by the authors. Our simulation results show that under zero or a small internal source, the maximum zonal current speed ranges from 0.1 to 1.0 m s ^−1 and the magma ocean depth remains ${ \mathcal O }$ (100) m, being more than 100 times shallower than that predicted in a fully convecting system. We demonstrate that the ocean heat transport divergence is consistently smaller than the stellar insolation by 1–2 orders of magnitude. Consequently, the impact of ocean circulation on the thermal phase curve of tidally locked lava worlds is minimal in observations. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-4396f977a5a04a2ca2226af8973a9aac |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2632-3338 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | The Planetary Science Journal |
| spelling | doaj-art-4396f977a5a04a2ca2226af8973a9aac2025-08-20T01:54:30ZengIOP PublishingThe Planetary Science Journal2632-33382024-01-015920410.3847/PSJ/ad7111Ocean Circulation on Tide-locked Lava Worlds. I. An Idealized 2D Numerical ModelYanhong Lai0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9700-9121Jun Yang1https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6031-2485Wanying Kang2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4615-3702Laboratory for Climate and Ocean-Atmosphere Studies, Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, School of Physics, Peking University , Beijing 100871, People's Republic of China ; junyang@pku.edu.cn; Institute of Ocean Research, Peking University , Beijing 100871, People's Republic of ChinaLaboratory for Climate and Ocean-Atmosphere Studies, Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, School of Physics, Peking University , Beijing 100871, People's Republic of China ; junyang@pku.edu.cn; Institute of Ocean Research, Peking University , Beijing 100871, People's Republic of ChinaDepartment of Earth, Atmosphere and Planetary Science, MIT , Cambridge, MA 02139, USAA magma ocean is expected to exist on the dayside of tide-locked planets if surface temperature exceeds the melting temperature of typical crust. As highly prioritized targets for the James Webb Space Telescope, more information about the surface and atmosphere of lava planets will soon be available. In most previous studies of lava planets, the system is typically assumed to be vigorously convecting and isentropic. This implies a magma ocean depth reaching ${ \mathcal O }$ (10 ^4 –10 ^5 ) m, determined by the adiabats and melting curves. In this study, we aim to simulate ocean circulation and ocean depth on tidally locked lava worlds using an idealized 2D ( x – z ) model developed by the authors. Our simulation results show that under zero or a small internal source, the maximum zonal current speed ranges from 0.1 to 1.0 m s ^−1 and the magma ocean depth remains ${ \mathcal O }$ (100) m, being more than 100 times shallower than that predicted in a fully convecting system. We demonstrate that the ocean heat transport divergence is consistently smaller than the stellar insolation by 1–2 orders of magnitude. Consequently, the impact of ocean circulation on the thermal phase curve of tidally locked lava worlds is minimal in observations.https://doi.org/10.3847/PSJ/ad7111Exoplanet dynamicsExoplanetsHabitable planets |
| spellingShingle | Yanhong Lai Jun Yang Wanying Kang Ocean Circulation on Tide-locked Lava Worlds. I. An Idealized 2D Numerical Model The Planetary Science Journal Exoplanet dynamics Exoplanets Habitable planets |
| title | Ocean Circulation on Tide-locked Lava Worlds. I. An Idealized 2D Numerical Model |
| title_full | Ocean Circulation on Tide-locked Lava Worlds. I. An Idealized 2D Numerical Model |
| title_fullStr | Ocean Circulation on Tide-locked Lava Worlds. I. An Idealized 2D Numerical Model |
| title_full_unstemmed | Ocean Circulation on Tide-locked Lava Worlds. I. An Idealized 2D Numerical Model |
| title_short | Ocean Circulation on Tide-locked Lava Worlds. I. An Idealized 2D Numerical Model |
| title_sort | ocean circulation on tide locked lava worlds i an idealized 2d numerical model |
| topic | Exoplanet dynamics Exoplanets Habitable planets |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3847/PSJ/ad7111 |
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