VISUAL ARCHIVE / IMAGE STORY
When Rock Stops Returning Carbon
Weakening volcanism could alter a planet’s long-term carbon balance.
A speculative stagnant-lid world after its volcanic carbon supply weakens. Ice is one possible climate outcome in the modeled scenario, not an observed fate assigned to a known exoplanet.
THE OBSERVATION
What we can actually see.
Models of stagnant-lid planets consider volcanic outgassing alongside weathering and atmospheric loss. Whether a particular world cools into ice depends on the stellar environment, greenhouse budget, and its evolution.
THE ILLUSTRATION
What the artwork imagines.
The frozen landscape is one modeled possibility in AI artwork. It is not a photographed exoplanet or an inevitable end state for every quiet interior.
FROM THE ILLUSTRATED ARTICLE
The story that inspired it.
The planet article explores how radiogenic heat could affect long-term geology while leaving actual exoplanet interiors unresolved. Weakening volcanism could alter a planet’s long-term carbon balance.
Read The Planets That Go Quiet While Their Stars Still ShineCHECK THE RECORD
The image interprets the research below. Follow the original work for the measurements and limits behind the scene.
Rocky-planet radiogenic heating modelOTHER IMAGE STORIES
A World with Enough Light and Too Little Heat
A Planet’s Slow Interior Furnace
The Mark Shared by Titan and Pluto