Terraforming an Earth-like Planet
I have been recently thinking and writing about a hard sci-fi universe with the exception of FTL. Within the system of Alchiba (or Alpha Corvi) lies a planet under the name of Mannhardt and is an Earth-like with no life and an unbreathable atmosphere which contains too much CO2 and other toxic gases from volcanic activity. Here is some general information on the planet that I copied from a concept art for the planet I made:
TYPE: Rocky world with water
DIAMETER: 10,889.52 km
GRAVITY: 8.81 m/s² (0.898 G)
TEMPERATURE: -27 °C to +33 °C (8 °C average)
ATMOSPHERE: 63.3 kPa (0.625 ATM) | Carbon Dioxide (68%), Methane (7%), Water Vapor (5%), Oxygen (5%), Ammonia (1%), Other gases [ex. Propane, Hydrogen Sulfide, etc.] (1%)
"Alchiba b is harsh but strangely beautiful planet which had begun colonization only a few years ago. Its atmosphere is unbreathable and poisonous, but it still has oceans, lakes, and rivers of liquid water. It lies within the habitable zone and is undergoing terraforming. The skies are surprisingly blue and the ground mostly consists of sand and volcanic rocks. The planet has large oceans and landmasses and islands which are carved by erosion with steep and sharp cliffs and sprawling valleys, canyons, and mountain ranges. There is a fair amount of volcanic activity releasing gases into the atmosphere. The planet is swirling with clouds and weather systems which deposit water across its rough and craggy plains."
CONCEPT ART ITSELF: https://zertofi.deviantart.com/art/Planetary-Concept-MANNHARDT-728602681
Now I was wondering how long would it take to terraform this planet. More specifically make the air breathable. I was thinking somewhere of upwards to a couple thousand years but I am not sure. Within this universe I have giant terraformers which expel and take gas from and into the atmosphere which can be up to the size of a small city. If hundreds (or thousands) of those are placed across the planet including other methods, how long would it take to make this planets atmosphere breathable?
You don't have to provide any mathematical equations (unless if you want) but just an estimate or guess.
Thank You.
This post was sourced from https://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/q/109040. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
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