Welcome back to another Cellfie blog post and today we have a brilliant article written by one of our monthly blog writers, Hope, all about the pressing issue of global warming and how we may rely on geology in the future to locate other planets that can support life.
As climate change and global warming becomes an ever more prevalent threat to our society, so does the alternative-finding a habitable planet. Recently it was stated that a researcher is using geology to help find a habitable planet. It’s questionable whether the effects of our human actions have become irremediable to the point we now have to find a new home. However, I perceive the concept of geology being used to do so fascinating, so that is what I will explore throughout this article.
The simple definition of geology is a science concerned with the solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. It is often used to discover more about the environment and the major societal concern of global warming. So, naturally, it intertwines with attempting to find a new habitable planet.
A habitable planet is a planet with the ability to sustain life for a significant period of time, therefore the main requirement is the planet having liquid water, a basic necessity to survive.
However, the next question is how do scientists find new planets?
Well under the generic term ‘planets’ there are also exoplanets. Exoplanets are actually planets that exist outside of the solar system. On average, there is more than one exoplanet for every star and due to many technological advances, scientists have found 4,000 (and counting) of these.
Nevertheless, as they only exist outside of our solar system, only a fraction have the ability to potentially sustain life. Furthermore, as they don’t emit any source of light, they are very difficult to find.
Most times researchers will use a method called spectroscopy to learn more about the exoplanets they detect. By measuring the stars’ light emissions and observing how much light the planets absorb, they are able to infer the planets’ masses, densities, and atmospheric compositions. Within this, they are able to observe water and key factors to support life.
Another method scientists use to help with the discovery is knowing the quantity of iron in the earth’s mantle. This is because it shows how thick the earth’s crust is. Through knowing this information about our planet, it can be compared with other planets. The thickness of that planets crust then dictates whether it can support plate tectonics, showing how much liquid water and atmosphere is present.
Therefore, the study of geology is incorporated into the concept of sustainable human life on a terrain other than our current one. Since smaller rocky planets have the same proportion of iron as the star they orbit, being able to use the study of the earth is entirely beneficial. Knowing the thickness of its crust, how rich the core is in iron or even the basic components of the earth’s atmosphere that we need to survive, all these facts about our planet accumulate to help learn more about new planets.
In summary, it’s captivating how many advancements have been made in order to carry these actions out. The ability to find new planets and then also deduce whether they’re safe to sustain human life is incredible. However, as fascinating as this is, it is not something to be reliant upon. Just because many progressions have been made, we are still unable to live on any other planet. Earth is the sole planet suited to give us the ability to breathe, eat, drink, just in order to survive.