Role of ocean heat transport in climates of tidally locked exoplanets around M dwarf stars

Authors:
Open Access
Publisher website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Significance: Tidal-locking planets receive very uneven stellar heating because their one side permanently faces their stars and the other remains dark. While the dayside can be warm enough to sustain liquid water, the nightside could be so cold that any gases would condense out. Here, we perform simulations with a coupled atmosphere–ocean model to demonstrate the importance of exooceanography in determining the habitability of tidal-locking exoplanets around M dwarfs. We show that ocean heat transport can substantially extend the dayside habitable area and efficiently warm the nightside, so that atmosphere collapse does not occur. As greenhouse effect or stellar radiation is sufficiently strong, ocean heat transport can even cause global deglaciation. Ocean heat transport also likely narrows the width of M dwarfs’ habitable zone.

This publication has 31 references indexed in Scilit: