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The lead author of the paper, Adrian Lenardic from Rice University in Houston, says the heat required for such a change is far beyond anything we expect from human-induced climate change. "But things like volcanic activity and changes in the sun's luminosity could lead to this level of heating," he said. The results have implications for the search for potentially life-friendly planets in our galaxy, the researchers say. "Plate tectonics is the thing that provides many of the building blocks for life in the form of energy," Moresi said. The findings also help explain why Venus, our near neighbor in the solar system, has evolved so differently to Earth. The two planets are similar in terms of their size and makeup, but Venus has a carbon dioxide-rich atmosphere that has made its surface temperature more than 400°C hotter than Earth's. It also lacks any outward signs of plate tectonic activity. "The high temperature is very much the reason we don't have plate tectonics on Venus," Moresi said. Related Links: Discovery News Blog: Earth Impacts |
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