Question about climate and geography
I have been asking around a bit because i am trying to create a world for a story i'm writing. And after some loose questions i think the better way to get an answer will be to just list the criteria i try to get into this world and let the better educated among you provide me with some answers.
What i need is basically a world that has earth like climate but without deserts (or as little desert area as possible) and without tropical rainforests. (Tundra and taiga like regions are ok) (as are icy poles if there is no way around it) I'd also like to keep the amount of continents as low as possible. (preferably one supertonitent like Pangea, two continents connected by a narrow land bridge or two continents seperated by an ocean. All suggestions are welcome.
CLARIFICATION: Some of you seem to think i am asking you to do all the work for me in designing the world i want. That is not my intention, All i want is suggestions in where to place things like continents and oceans to achieve a world as close to my above description as possible.
This post was sourced from https://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/q/130396. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
1 answer
Ok, there are a few mechanisms that could allow your planet to have continents with reasonably uniform climate.
Thicker Atmosphere
The thicker the atmosphere of your world, the more heat will be distributed between the equator and the poles. There will still be temperature differences, but they will be less severe than on Earth.
Doubling atmospheric pressure at sea-level will help a lot, but will not be so severe that it has untenable consequences that render the planet non-Earthlike.
Consequences: A thicker atmosphere means stronger winds. Hurricanes will be much worse.
Bigger Planet
By this I mean a planet with a greater surface area. If the world is bigger, there will be more area within a given climate band. You can offset any unwanted increase in surface gravity by lowering the density of the planet.
Consequences: Larger planets have greater mass, and therefore higher surface gravity. If the mass of the planet is greater than about 2.5 Earth masses, it is predicted that a transition zone will form at the bottom of the mantle that severely restricts heat transfer from the core. This means stagnant tectonics, and a dead planet.
Also, if you lower the density of the planet too far, that implies that the metallic core will be smaller. This results in a weaker magnetic field.
Smaller Continents
Smaller landmasses mean that no given point on the continent is as far from the ocean, so you are less likely to get deserts in their interiors. Supercontinents are a bad option because they will inevitably be surrounded by subduction zones, which produce mountain ranges, which worsen the interior aridity by producing a rain shadow.
Continents Restricted to Equatorial or Temperate Region
If your continents are strung out along a narrow band of latitude, they will have the potential to share similar climate. If you use the aforementioned "Bigger Planet" idea, this latitudinal band can be wider, and with a thicker atmosphere this band will be wider again.
0 comment threads
0 comment threads