Agenda

Relatore: dr. Max Popp, Laboratoire Météorologique Dynamique (LMD) Université P&M Curie Paris, France

Abstract:
In recent years a few scientists have claimed that the burning of fossil fuels could lead to a form of extreme climate change that could leave Earth in an uninhabitable state similar to Venus: The Runaway Greenhouse. In this talk I will show that and explain why this is an unrealistic scenario for even the most extreme climate-change scenarios. I will first talk about the history of the Runaway Greenhouse, which is closely linked to the question of why Earth is a habitable planet and Venus a hot unhospitable place. I will show that the Runaway Greenhouse is a relevant process for affecting the habitability on geological time-scales through changes in the sun’s luminosity, and for the search for live in other solar systems, but not for future climate change. I will also talk about other scenarios of how an Earth-like planet could eventually become uninhabitable on geological timescales.