The Impact of Oceans on Exoplanet Climates

A Sea Change in Exoplanet Climate Models?

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What would Earth's climate be like without the oceans? This is a question that is not easy to answer in detail, since it depends among other things upon what impact removing the oceans would have on the composition of the atmosphere and, in particular, on the concentration of greenhouse gases such as water vapor, atmospheric dust concentrations, and cloudiness. But one immediate consequence would be the likelihood of much more extreme geographic, seasonal, and diurnal variability in surface temperature, almost certainly rendering large areas of the planet virtually uninhabitable for advanced forms of life. The immense heat capacity of the oceans causes their surface temperature to respond only very slowly to seasonal changes in solar heating, while their near-global extent ensures that temperature swings across the planet are kept to tolerable levels. But the ocean circulation also carries a huge amount of heat energy from the steamy tropics towards the poles, thereby also moderating the extreme temperature contrast between equator and high latitudes. It is clear, therefore, that the oceans play a vital role in keeping much of Earth comfortably habitable.