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Climate change of Mars‐like planets due to obliquity variations: implications for Mars
Author(s) -
Nakamura Takasumi,
Tajika Eiichi
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/2002gl016725
Subject(s) - mars exploration program , planet , terrestrial planet , solar constant , atmosphere of mars , astrobiology , atmospheric sciences , geology , atmosphere (unit) , environmental science , martian , solar irradiance , physics , astronomy , meteorology
The obliquities of the terrestrial planets could have undergone large‐amplitude fluctuations. Because the obliquity changes affect the latitudinal distribution of solar radiation, they may have played important roles in the climatic evolution of the planets. We have investigated the effects of obliquity changes on the climate of Mars‐like planets with CO 2 atmosphere by using a one‐dimensional energy balance climate model. Our numerical results show that the obliquity changes would result in the drastic changes of atmospheric pressure (climate jumps) by runaway sublimation of permanent CO 2 ice. We also found that given a small solar constant and large obliquity, “ring‐shaped” regions with permanent CO 2 ice forms at the mid‐latitude.