Abstract
High-velocity impacts of planetesimals onto a growing planet result in the impact-degassing of volatiles and the formation of an impact-induced atmosphere. Because of the blanketing effect of such an atmosphere, it is likely that the surface of the proto-Venus melted once the radius exceeded ∼40% of the final radius. The final mass of H2O in the impact-generated atmosphere, predicted to be ∼1021 kg on the basis of thermal evolution models of the growing proto-Venus, does not depend on the initial water content of the Venus-forming planetesimals and is almost identical to the present mass of the Earth's oceans. We show here that an impact-induced H2O atmosphere of ∼1021 kg mass probably formed on both Venus and Earth during accretion, but that whereas H2O in the proto-atmosphere of the Earth could condense to form a hot (∼600 K) ocean, such condensation probably did not occur on Venus.
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Matsui, T., Abe, Y. Impact-induced atmospheres and oceans on Earth and Venus. Nature 322, 526–528 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1038/322526a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/322526a0
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