Motivation and side effects Edit

Challenges and limitations Edit

Advantages Edit

Proposed methods and strategies Edit

Thermodynamics of terraforming Edit

The overall energy required to sublimate the CO 2 from the south polar ice cap was modeled by Zubrin and McKay in 1993.[1] If using orbital mirrors, an estimated 120 MW-years of electrical energy would be required in order to produce mirrors large enough to vaporize the ice caps. This is considered the most effective method, though the least practical. If using powerful halocarbon greenhouse gases, an order of 1000 MW-years of electrical energy would be required to accomplish this heating. However, if all of this CO 2 were put into the atmosphere, it would only double[31] the current atmospheric pressure from 6 mbar to 12 mbar, amounting to about 1.2% of Earth's mean sea level pressure. The amount of warming that could be produced today by putting even 100 mbar of CO 2 into the atmosphere is small, roughly of order 7001100000000000000♠10 K.[31] Additionally, once in the atmosphere, it likely would be removed quickly, either by diffusion into the subsurface and adsorption or by re-condensing onto the polar caps.[31] The surface or atmospheric temperature required to allow liquid water to exist has not been determined, and liquid water conceivably could exist when atmospheric temperatures are as low as 245 K (−28 °C; −19 °F). However, a warming of 7001100000000000000♠10 K is much less than thought necessary in order to produce liquid water.[31]

In popular culture Edit

See also Edit