Climate and Habitability of Kepler 452b Simulated with a Fully Coupled Atmosphere–Ocean General Circulation Model

Abstract

Abstract The discovery of Kepler 452b is a milestone in searching for habitable exoplanets. While it has been suggested that Kepler 452b is the first Earth-like exoplanet discovered in the habitable zone of a Sun-like star, its climate states and habitability require quantitative studies. Here, we first use a three-dimensional fully coupled atmosphere–ocean climate model to study the climate and habitability of an exoplanet around a Sun-like star. Our simulations show that Kepler 452b is habitable if CO2 concentrations in its atmosphere are comparable or lower than that in the present-day Earth atmosphere. However, our simulations also suggest that Kepler 452b can become too hot to be habitable if there is the lack of silicate weathering to limit CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere. We also address whether Kepler 452b could retain its water inventory after 6.0 billion years of lifetime. These results in the present Letter will provide insights about climate and habitability for other undiscovered exoplanets similar to Kepler 452b, which may be observable by future observational missions.