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Water is necessary for the origin and survival of life as we know it. In the search for life-friendly worlds, water-rich planets therefore are obvious candidates and have attracted increasing attention in recent years. The surface H 2 O layer on such planets (containing a liquid water ocean and possibly high-pressure ice below a specific depth) could potentially be hundreds of kilometres deep depending on the water content and the evolution of the proto-atmosphere. We study possible constraints for the habitability of deep water layers and introduce a new habitability classification relevant for water-rich planets (from Mars-size to super-Earth-size planets). A new ocean model has been developed that is coupled to a thermal evolution model of the mantle and core. Our interior structure model takes into account depth-dependent thermodynamic properties and the possible formation of high-pressure ice. We find that heat flowing out of the silicate mantle can melt an ice layer from below (in some cases episodically), depending mainly on the thickness of the ocean-ice shell, the mass of the planet, the surface temperature and the interior parameters (e.g. radioactive mantle heat sources). The high pressure at the bottom of deep water–ice layers could also impede volcanism at the water–mantle boundary for both stagnant lid and plate tectonics silicate shells. We conclude that water-rich planets with a deep ocean, a large planet mass, a high average density or a low surface temperature are likely less habitable than planets with an Earth-like ocean. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Motivation: The most likely places for finding life outside the Solar System are rocky planets, some of which may have surface conditions allowing for liquid water, one of the major prerequisites for life. Greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide (CO2), play an important role for the surface temperature and, thus, the habitability of an extrasolar planet. The amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is in part determined by their outgassing from the interior. Method: We use a two-dimensional convection model to calculate partial melting and the amount of CO2 outgassed for Earth-sized stagnant-lid planets. By varying the planetary mass, we investigate the evolution of a secondary atmosphere dependent on the interior structure (different ratio of planetary to core radius). We further study the likelihood for plate tectonics depending on the interior structure and investigate the influence of plate tectonics on outgassing. Results: We find that for stagnant-lid planets the relative size of the iron core has a large impact on the production of partial melt because a variation in the interior structure changes the pressure gradient and thereby the melting temperature of silicate rocks with depth. As a consequence, for planets with a large core (a radius of at least 70–75% of the planet′s radius), outgassing from the interior is strongly reduced in comparison to a planet with the same radius but a small core. This finding suggests that the outer edge of the habitable zone of a star not only depends on the distance from the star and thus the solar influx but also is further limited by small outgassing for stagnant-lid planets with a high average density, indicating a high iron content (e.g. Mercury and the recently detected exoplanets Kepler-10b and CoRoT-7b). This contradicts previous models that have assumed CO2 reservoirs being in principle unlimited for all planets. If plate tectonics is initiated, several tens of bars of CO2 can be outgassed in a short period of time – even for planets with a large iron core – and the outer boundary of the habitable zone is not influenced by the interior structure. It is, however, more difficult for planets with a thin mantle (in our test case, with a thickness of 10% of the planet′s radius) to initiate plate tectonics. Our results indicate that the interior structure may strongly influence the amount of CO2 in planetary atmospheres and, thereby, the habitability of rocky planets. To obtain better constraints on the interior structure accurate measurements of size and mass are necessary. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]