A report by a team of researchers from the University of East Anglia reveals that oceans are important for alien life to survive.
The report highlights the function of oceans to regulate the climate in planets much like our own Earth, which is necessary for life to be developed and sustained.
The research team, a partnership between the Mathematics and Environmental Sciences schools of the University of East Anglia, had the report published in the Astrobiology journal. Entitled The Importance of Planetary Rotation Period for Ocean Heat Transport, the research received funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council.
The researchers developed a computer simulation of ocean circulation patterns on a theoretical planet covered by ocean like the Earth. The team studied how the different rates of the rotation of the planet would affect the transportation of heat, taking into account that oceans are present.
The simulation focuses on the ocean's importance in stabilizing the planet's climate for habitability, as opposed to other developed simulations on the topic that focus on how the atmospheres of planets like the Earth can sustain life. Most habitability models for alien life have ignored the effect of oceans on a planet's climate.
"The number of planets being discovered outside our solar system is rapidly increasing. This research will help answer whether or not these planets could sustain alien life," said David Stevens from the University of East Anglia's Mathematics school.
While the distance from the nearest sun is one of the factors in determining if a planet is habitable or not, another factor that needs to be taken into consideration is whether the planet's temperature will allow it to contain liquid water.
Stevens explains that oceans have a huge role in climate control, as they allow the temperature of the planet's surface to react very slowly to differences in heat received from the sun due to the change of seasons. Oceans also ensure the tolerability of sudden changes in temperature within a planet, along with distributing heat to allow bigger surface areas to be able to sustain life.
"Mars for example is in the sun's habitable zone, but it has no oceans - causing air temperatures to swing over a range of 100°C," Stevens said, adding that oceans help in stabilizing the climate of a planet. Taking oceans into consideration into climate models of alien planets is important in determining if the planet is habitable.
Stevens also says that the new simulation model developed by the team will allow researchers to understand with more accuracy the climates and conditions of other habitable planets would be like.
