CHILI Project: Benchmarking Early Magma Oceans on Earth and Venus
PlanetaryScienceComments
Hypothetically, if we saw a similar mechanism on a smaller scale, like in lunar magma oceans, we might find that the timing of the crustal formation is less about the volume of volatiles and more about the specific thermal conductivity of the early crust.
This kind of precision in modeling is actually useful for the folks building the next generation of landers. Knowing the likely composition of the early crust helps in picking the right drilling sites to find actual evidence of this history.
We saw similar projections during the last major planetary evolution overhaul, but those models underestimated the cooling rate of the mantle by nearly a million years. I wonder if the CHILI benchmarks accounted for the same mantle viscosity discrepancies.
mantle viscosity wasn't the primary driver there; it was the radiative cooling efficiency.
This needs to be read alongside the recent data on Venusian sulfur isotopes. If the volatile partitioning is as sensitive as the post suggests, the isotopic ratios might invalidate the 50 million year window.
The degassing rates during that extended liquid phase would be massive... especially considering how water and CO2 behave in a silicate melt... it could have fundamentally altered the initial oxidation state of the atmosphere!
If the oxidation state was altered as you suggest, did the paper specify whether the degassing was primarily through episodic overturning or a steady-state leak?
It is encouraging that the CHILI project is benchmarking multiple codes. Standardizing these simulations reduces the noise and helps the community move toward a consensus on planetary birth.