University of Cambridge: Leeds Assessments

[University Of Cambridge]

University of Cambridge

Post War assessments of Planet Leeds

Preliminary Planetary assessment

Schools of: Geography, Earth Sciences, Meteorology, Mathematics, Chemistry and Geology
Date: 17/09/826 A.S. - 23/10/826 A.S

This Report is restricted to Academic, Government and approved sources only. This Report is Not open to the General Public. It remains the Intellectual property of the authors and the University. Please reference accordingly.

Introduction

With the Leeds system now more secure, work has begun on examining the state of Planet Leeds and it's infrastructure. At current, no members have been placed upon the planet's surface for fear of toxic waste, unexploded ordnance, structural damage and tectonic movements. Data has been gathered from the upper atmosphere and probes have been deployed planet side to take readings from the surface. Initial readings clearly show the surface is heavily irradiated with what little ground water we could find being contaminated. Carbon Dioxide levels are consistent with volcanic activity and present levels are lethal to Humans.

This report to designed to give a clearer picture of the current state of the planet and to re-classify it if required. As has been mentioned, no attempt to deploy University personnel onto the planet has been made. It should be clarified that this report serves only to voice initial data and is not to be considered a final conclusive document. However, it should become clear to the reader, the difficulties in gathering data from a now dead world make any further study time consuming, expensive and unlikely as a result.

Atmosphere

The Atmosphere of Planet Leeds has been altered in many different ways, the most notable difference being a major increase in temperature (initially marked at 740 K (467 °C) with pressure sitting at approximately 93 bar (9.3 MPa). At this point the atmosphere is almost entirely composed of carbon dioxide with all other chemical compounds present only in trace amounts. There is no abnormal motion in the troposphere however there are powerful winds at the surface level (although not unusual given the speed of motion of the planet's troposphere.) The planet is also now permanently shrouded in a blanket of dust.

The amount of water vapor in the atmosphere has increased significantly thereby increasing the temperature of the planet and consequently increasing the evaporation of the various water sources, leading eventually to the situation in which the aforementioned water sources will boil (or are boiling) and the water vapor entering the atmosphere. If Leeds initially had water prior to the bombardment, then the current runaway greenhouse effect will hydrate Leeds' stratosphere, and the water will eventually escape into space.

Above the dense CO2 layer are thick clouds consisting mainly of sulfuric acid, which is formed by sulfur dioxide and water through a chemical reaction resulting in sulfuric acid hydrate. Additionally, the atmosphere consists of approximately 1% ferric chloride (likely the result of toxic waste on the planet). Other possible constituents of the cloud particles are ferric sulfate, aluminium chloride and phosphoric anhydride. Clouds at different levels have different compositions and particle size distributions. These clouds reflect and scatter about 90% of the sunlight that falls on them back into space, and prevent visual observation of the Leeds surface.

Geography & Geology

Considerable volcanic and tectonic activity has been detected on the surface with the surface becoming isothermal due to the ongoing volcanic eruptions and state of the atmosphere. Tectonic movement is likely due to the systematic and continuous bombardment of planetary fault lines resulting in sudden releases of energy. It is not expected that these earthquakes will be on going as the energy to cause an earthquake will be spent. However, further investigation is required on this matter as the ongoing volcanic eruptions could indicate damage to the planet's crust over a super plume. Volcanic activity would also explain the increase presence of carbonyl sulfide, hydrogen sulfide (H2S) and sulfur dioxide (SO2) within the atmosphere.

Radiation levels have also been examined although the results are far from conclusive as entry to the planet was difficult and gaining a signal from probes even more so. So far results put the radiation levels at 10 000 000 000 sieverts (1×1010 mSv). It is expected that the radiation will eventually remain in the atmosphere and soils of the planet for at least 500 years (estimate). No trace of vegetation has been found on the surface and, given the conditions already mentioned, this is hardly surprising. It is therefore safe to conclude that there are no survivors on the planet of Leeds. Additionally, winds have been recorded at 300 Km/h, although more data is required. Due to wind speeds being so strong, this explains the dense dust layer, a lack of water results in the planet being dryer and thereby dust says in the air and atmosphere longer. Fires have been briefly observed from surface rovers and probes although no equipment has survived long enough to confirm the presence of firestorms or natural gas fires. Likewise, the hostility of the environment has resulted in a severe lack of knowledge regarding the terrain and thus mapping of the planets surface is extremely difficult and costly.

Conclusions & recommendations

It is the position of the University of Cambridge that Leeds be reclassified as either a 'Toxic' or 'Tomb' world. Habitation is, simply put, not possible. Further study will require greater funding and time as the nature of the planet's environment makes such a venture expensive and time consuming. It is unlikely that the environment will recover fully in this millennia without human intervention and it is unlikely there is anything humans can do to the planet for the next 300 years. Technologies that could assist in this matter are currently at a theoretical level, at best.

It is our recommendation that Leeds be left as it is, the runaway greenhouse effect will eventually make further study impossible.

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School of Geography:
Professor Jason Harkon
Dr. Tabatha Lawrence
Dr. Susan E. Fisher
Dr. Connor Kirk
Earth Sciences:
Professor Albert Swan
Dr. Yoko Tanaka
Dr. Hans Olbricht
Dr. Gunter Harrow
Meteorology:
Professor Lisa Natter
Dr. Samantha Slaughter
Dr. Kyle Kinnon
Dr. Mason J. Hamilton
Mathematics:
Professor Victoria Alexopoulos
Dr. Penelope Olbricht
Dr. George Wright
Dr. James Wind
Chemistry:
Professor Timothy Sanders
Professor Benjamin Nooks
Dr. James Sommes
Dr. William Sommes
Geology:
Professor Charlotte Kite
Dr. Natalie Wilson
Dr. Thomas Courter
Dr. Donald Delaware

Acknowledgements

Mister Joachim Barons (Editor)

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