2007/10/03 by Diana Valencia, Richard J. O'Connell, Dimitar D. Sasselov · 13 citations
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Earth and Planetary Sciences · Physics and Astronomy · #Geological and Geochemical Analysis #Geomagnetism and Paleomagnetism Studies #High-pressure geophysics and materials #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1086/524012
13 pages, 2 figures and 1 table; in press in ApJL
arxiv created 2007/10/03 · openalex publication_date 2007/10/22 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/31
The recent discovery of super-Earths (masses ≤10 M ⊕ ) has initiated a discussion about conditions for habitable worlds. Among these is the mode of convection, which influences a planet's thermal evolution and surface conditions. On Earth, plate tectonics has been proposed as a necessary condition for life. Here we show that super-Earths will also have plate tectonics. We demonstrate that as planetary mass increases, the shear stress available to overcome resistance to plate motion increases while the plate thickness decreases, thereby enhancing plate weakness. These effects contribute favorably to the subduction of the lithosphere, an essential component of plate tectonics. Moreover, uncertainties in achieving plate tectonics in the 1 M ⊕ regime disappear as mass increases: super-Earths, even if dry, will exhibit plate tectonic behavior.