Carbon Cycle Imbalances on Arid Terrestrial Planets with Implications for Venus

Abstract Arid terrestrial exoplanets are potentially abundant and are thus interesting targets in the search for life. In particular, M-dwarf planets such as those in the TRAPPIST-1 system may possess limited surface water, whereas early solar system terrestrials may have had small surface water inventories postmagma ocean solidification. On modern Earth, there is enough surface water for a balanced geologic carbon cycle, meaning silicate weathering balances the volcanic outgassing of CO 2 . However, on arid planets, there may not be enough surface water for this silicate weathering thermostat to maintain habitable conditions. Here, we show that arid planets enter a regime where weathering cannot keep up with volcanic degassing of CO 2 . Using a coupled model of the geologic carbon cycle, we find that terrestrial Earth-like planets require an initial surface water inventory of at least ∼20%–50% of Earth’s ocean mass to maintain a balanced geologic carbon cycle and temperate surface temperature over 4.5 Gyr of evolution. Arid planets with less than ∼20%–50% of Earth’s oceans cannot maintain high silicate weathering fluxes, potentially causing a runaway increase in atmospheric CO 2 . In addition, we explore Venus-like instellations and find that limited surface water could have destabilized Venus’s carbon cycle, triggering a transition from temperate to uninhabitable. Even if a planet resides in the habitable zone of its star, if arid, it may transition to an uninhabitable state due to an unbalanced carbon cycle. More broadly, arid terrestrial exoplanets are less likely to remain habitable on long timescales, and may thus be poor candidates for biosignature searches.