Scientists discover new way to find oceans on distant planets

Scientists think they have found a new way to detect oceans and possibly even alien life on faraway planets.

Space exploration technology and methods are constantly evolving, giving scientists even more information about the planets that surround us.

Liquid water has long been heralded as the key to finding other forms of life on exoplanets and scientists have come up with a new strategy for locating it.

In a new study, published in Nature Astronomy, researchers suggested a hypothesis that if the atmosphere of an exoplanet contains less carbon dioxide than neighbouring ones, it may contain vast quantities of water, or even life, on its surface.

Amaury Triaud, a professor of exoplanetology at the University of Birmingham and the study’s co-lead author, explained: “We know that initially, the Earth's atmosphere used to be mostly CO2, but then the carbon dissolved into the ocean and made the planet able to support life for the last four billion years or so.”

Locating liquid water on exoplanets has proven a significant challenge as, of the 5,000 or more exoplanets that have been located, none have been confirmed as having liquid water on them.

The new technique proposed may prove effective because CO2 levels on Earth are low compared to our neighbours, and it is the perfect climate for liquid water. Carbon is dissolved in the ocean and is subsequently locked into the Earth’s crust by tectonic activity, creating a carbon sink.

The theory is that if scientists discover an exoplanet with a lower CO2 level than its surrounding neighbours, it could suggest the existence of large oceans like on planet Earth.

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