terraforming a nitrogen world
Posted: 12.02.2005, 01:52
Okay. What should I take in account when terraforming a world with a nitrogen dioxide atmosphere?
The nitrogen dioxide reacts with the sea water and creates both nitric acid and nitric oxide. (Ostwald process) So we probably have nitric acid seas.
Nitrous oxide is a greenhouse gas, but nitrous dioxide can block sunlight. Is there a greenhouse effect in effect or not? I do not know. There is probably a portion of (<5%) carbon dioxide in the atmosphere too.
Now let's start the terraforming and plant something in the deep seas. Something like phosphorus-nitrogen (P-N) plants that absorb the nitric acid, recudes it and relases the oxygen as a waste product. Some of the released oxygen will merge with the nitric oxide from the Ostwald process but the oxygen levels will eventually win this battle. Tons and tons of nitrogen will be absorbed by these strange plants. (Where does the phosphorus come from? From deep sea deposits of apatite? Or from somewhere else?)
Eventually the atmosphere will clear up, PH of the seas lower and the first acid free rains come. Now it's time to get the carbon cycle running...
The final world should be equpped with human-ideal pressure and temperature.
What was the starting world like?
Is there something goofy in this general picture?
Any ideas? Visions? What could go wrong? What is still needed?
The P-N plants are a bit sci-fi but those start to be a quite standard subjects in xenobiology:
http://members.lycos.co.uk/thepixie/sfrpg/xenochem.htm
TIA! Any info would be helpful...
--
Tero
The nitrogen dioxide reacts with the sea water and creates both nitric acid and nitric oxide. (Ostwald process) So we probably have nitric acid seas.
Nitrous oxide is a greenhouse gas, but nitrous dioxide can block sunlight. Is there a greenhouse effect in effect or not? I do not know. There is probably a portion of (<5%) carbon dioxide in the atmosphere too.
Now let's start the terraforming and plant something in the deep seas. Something like phosphorus-nitrogen (P-N) plants that absorb the nitric acid, recudes it and relases the oxygen as a waste product. Some of the released oxygen will merge with the nitric oxide from the Ostwald process but the oxygen levels will eventually win this battle. Tons and tons of nitrogen will be absorbed by these strange plants. (Where does the phosphorus come from? From deep sea deposits of apatite? Or from somewhere else?)
Eventually the atmosphere will clear up, PH of the seas lower and the first acid free rains come. Now it's time to get the carbon cycle running...
The final world should be equpped with human-ideal pressure and temperature.
What was the starting world like?
Is there something goofy in this general picture?
Any ideas? Visions? What could go wrong? What is still needed?
The P-N plants are a bit sci-fi but those start to be a quite standard subjects in xenobiology:
http://members.lycos.co.uk/thepixie/sfrpg/xenochem.htm
TIA! Any info would be helpful...
--
Tero