James Kasting

Last updated
James Fraser Kasting
Born (1953-01-02) 2 January 1953 (age 71)
NationalityAmerican
Alma mater Harvard University, University of Michigan
Scientific career
FieldsGeoscience
Institutions Penn State University
Doctoral advisor Tom Donahue [1]
Website http://www.geosc.psu.edu/~kasting/PersonalPage/Kasting.htm
External videos
Nuvola apps kaboodle.svg James Kasting, Origins 2011 congress

James Fraser Kasting (born January 2, 1953) is an American geoscientist and Distinguished Professor of Geosciences at Penn State University. Kasting is active in NASA's search for habitable extrasolar planets. [2] [3] He is considered a world leader in the field of planetary habitability, assessing habitable zones around stars. [4] He was elected a member of the National Academy of Sciences in 2018. Kasting also serves on the Advisory Council of METI (Messaging Extraterrestrial Intelligence).

Contents

Education

Kasting grew up in Huntsville, Alabama, and credits the nearby Marshall Space Flight Center and the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo rockets for inspiring his interests in space and science. [4]

Kasting received an A.B. from Harvard University in 1975. He then went to the University of Michigan, where he worked with Tom Donahue, [1] receiving his M.S. in physics and atmospheric science in 1978, and his Ph.D. in atmospheric science in 1979. [5] [2]

Research

Kasting worked as a postdoctoral fellow at the National Center for Atmospheric Research and at NASA Ames Research Center before accepting a position with the space science division at NASA Ames. He has served NASA in various capacities, including co-chairing the scientific working group for the Terrestrial Planet Finder. Kasting joined Penn State University in 1988, but continues to collaborate with NASA. [1] [6]

He is interested in atmospheric evolution, planetary atmospheres and paleoclimates. [5] Kasting writes about the geophysical history and status of the Earth, with a focus on atmospherics. He was well known among the geologists for his ground breaking idea on the only long term negative feedback for the atmospheric carbon dioxides: the carbon silica cycle. Together with his PhD student Alex Pavlov, they put a decisive mark on the post-GOE (Great Oxidation Event) oxygen level of greater than 1E-5 Present Atmospheric Level. According to Kasting's calculations, the Earth's oceans will evaporate in about a billion years, while the Sun is still a main sequence star. This date is much earlier than previously thought. [7] He has also considered the habitability criteria of other stellar systems and planets. A 1993 paper on habitable zones was particularly decisive in shaping thinking on this field. [8]

Kasting has published two books, The Earth System, [9] and How to Find a Habitable Planet, [10] along with more than 140 publications in research journals. [2] In their popular 2001 work Rare Earth:Why Complex Life is Uncommon in the Universe , Peter Ward and Donald Brownlee note: "Although many scientists have been doggedly pursuing the various attributes necessary for a habitable planet...one name stands out in the scientific literature: James Kasting." [11] :266

Kasting is also a member of numerous professional scientific societies and committees. He was elected Fellow of both the American Academy of Arts and Sciences [12] and Geochemical Society in 2008. [13] [14] He is also a fellow of the American Geophysical Union (2004), International Society for the Study of the Origin of Life (2002), and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (1995). He serves on the advisory board of the Lifeboat Foundation. [15]

“Even if we search the cosmos and come up with a negative result, if we see a bunch of Earth-like planets and none of them have life, we’ll know we hold a very special place in the universe,” Kasting said. “But I was a fan of Carl Sagan growing up, and Sagan was much more optimistic than that. And I’m more optimistic also.” [16]

Awards

He won a LExEN Award for his work "Collaborative Research: Methanogenesis and the Climate of Early Mars". [17] He won the Oparin Medal, presented by the International Society for the Study of the Origin of Life, in 2008. [18]

Personal life

He is married with three children.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Astrobiology</span> Science concerned with life in the universe

Astrobiology is a scientific field within the life and environmental sciences that studies the origins, early evolution, distribution, and future of life in the universe by investigating its deterministic conditions and contingent events. As a discipline, astrobiology is founded on the premise that life may exist beyond Earth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Extraterrestrial life</span> Life that did not originate on Earth

Extraterrestrial life or alien life is life which does not originate from Earth. No extraterrestrial life has yet been conclusively detected. Such life might range from simple forms such as prokaryotes to intelligent beings, possibly bringing forth civilizations that might be far more advanced than humanity. The Drake equation speculates about the existence of sapient life elsewhere in the universe. The science of extraterrestrial life is known as astrobiology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Terraforming</span> Hypothetical planetary engineering process

Terraforming or terraformation ("Earth-shaping") is the hypothetical process of deliberately modifying the atmosphere, temperature, surface topography or ecology of a planet, moon, or other body to be similar to the environment of Earth to make it habitable for humans to live on.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rare Earth hypothesis</span> Hypothesis that complex extraterrestrial life is improbable and extremely rare

In planetary astronomy and astrobiology, the Rare Earth hypothesis argues that the origin of life and the evolution of biological complexity such as sexually reproducing, multicellular organisms on Earth required an improbable combination of astrophysical and geological events and circumstances.

Planetary engineering is the development and application of technology for the purpose of influencing the environment of a planet. Planetary engineering encompasses a variety of methods such as terraforming, seeding, and geoengineering.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Habitable zone</span> Orbits where planets may have liquid surface water

In astronomy and astrobiology, the habitable zone (HZ), or more precisely the circumstellar habitable zone (CHZ), is the range of orbits around a star within which a planetary surface can support liquid water given sufficient atmospheric pressure. The bounds of the HZ are based on Earth's position in the Solar System and the amount of radiant energy it receives from the Sun. Due to the importance of liquid water to Earth's biosphere, the nature of the HZ and the objects within it may be instrumental in determining the scope and distribution of planets capable of supporting Earth-like extraterrestrial life and intelligence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Planetary habitability</span> Known extent to which a planet is suitable for life

Planetary habitability is the measure of a planet's or a natural satellite's potential to develop and maintain environments hospitable to life. Life may be generated directly on a planet or satellite endogenously or be transferred to it from another body, through a hypothetical process known as panspermia. Environments do not need to contain life to be considered habitable nor are accepted habitable zones (HZ) the only areas in which life might arise.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heidi Hammel</span> Planetary astronomer

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Earth analog</span> Planet with environment similar to Earths

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Morrison (astrophysicist)</span> American astronomer

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nexus for Exoplanet System Science</span> Dedicated to the search for life on exoplanets

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Superhabitable planet</span> Hypothetical type of planet that may be better-suited for life than Earth

A superhabitable planet is a hypothetical type of exoplanet or exomoon that may be better suited than Earth for the emergence and evolution of life. The concept was introduced in 2014 by René Heller and John Armstrong, who have criticized the language used in the search for habitable planets and proposed clarifications. According to Heller and Armstrong, knowing whether or not a planet is in its host star's habitable zone (HZ) is insufficient to determine its habitability: It is not clear why Earth should offer the most suitable physicochemical parameters to living organisms, as "planets could be non-Earth-like, yet offer more suitable conditions for the emergence and evolution of life than Earth did or does." While still assuming that life requires water, they hypothesize that Earth may not represent the optimal planetary habitability conditions for maximum biodiversity; in other words, they define a superhabitable world as a terrestrial planet or moon that could support more diverse flora and fauna than there are on Earth, as it would empirically show that its environment is more hospitable to life.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shawn Domagal-Goldman</span>

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References

  1. 1 2 3 "Jim Kasting" (PDF). NASA Quest. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 February 2013. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 "ISE - Our Team". Ihrenes Enterprises. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
  3. David, Leonard (March 4, 2009). "How NASA's Kepler Will Seek Out Strange New Worlds". Space.com . Retrieved 27 May 2016.
  4. 1 2 "Earth-like Planets Aren't Rare 10 Questions with... Renowned planetary scientist James Kasting on the odds of finding another Earth-like planet and the power of science fiction". Seed Magazine. March 15, 2010. Archived from the original on March 17, 2010. Retrieved 27 May 2016.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  5. 1 2 "Curriculum Vitae". Department of Geosciences. Retrieved 27 May 2016. Click 'Vitae' to see Dr. Kasting's CV.
  6. "Three Penn State faculty members awarded Evan Pugh Professorships". Penn State News. April 26, 2012. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
  7. Carrington, Damian (February 21, 2000). "Date set for desert Earth". BBC . Retrieved 27 May 2016.
  8. Kasting, James F.; Whitmore, Daniel P.; Reynolds, Ray T. (1993). "Habitable Zones Around Main Sequence Stars" (PDF). Icarus. 101 (1): 108–128. Bibcode:1993Icar..101..108K. doi:10.1006/icar.1993.1010. PMID   11536936. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-03-18. Retrieved 2007-08-06.
  9. Kump, Lee R.; Kasting, James F.; Crane, Robert G. (2010). The earth system. San Francisco: Prentice Hall. ISBN   978-0321597793.
  10. Kasting, James (2010). How to find a habitable planet. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press. ISBN   978-0691138053.
  11. Ward, Peter D.; Brownlee, Donald (2004). Rare earth: Why complex life is uncommon in the universe. New York: Copernicus. ISBN   9780387952895.
  12. "Book of Members, 1780–2010: Chapter B" (PDF). American Academy of Arts and Sciences . Retrieved June 3, 2011.
  13. "Jim Kasting Elected Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and of the Geochemical Society". NASA Astrobiology Institute.
  14. "Geochemical Fellows". Geochemical Society. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
  15. "Advisory Board". Lifeboat Foundation. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
  16. "The Dawn of the Golden Age of Planetary Science". 14 January 2021.
  17. National Science Foundation (October 15, 1997). "Limits Of Life On Earth: Are They The Key To Life On Other Planets?". EurekaAlert. Archived from the original on September 27, 2015. Retrieved March 12, 2013.
  18. "Awards and Honors". ISSOL. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
  19. "NAS Award in Early Earth and Life Sciences".