PARKER — Planetary lidAR seeKing for lifE signatuRe

Project Summary

The topography of planets bear the imprint of the processes that shape it. Deciphering the ”text” encoded in topography has been the goal of scholars for centuries (Darwin, Gilbert, others). For scholars looking into space, topography is a window in the processes that shape alien worlds. Here on Earth, it offers clues to how our planet might be different, and if so why. Despite centuries of theory that the abundance of life is shaping the surface of our planet (Darwin, 1881), the study of topography has yet to uncover a unique signal on Earth. Indeed as recently as 2006, Dietrich and Perron who asked the question is there a topographic signature of life? concluded that none could be detected from terrestrial data available back then. Today, with the revolution in Earth observations from space, we can approach this question with fresh eyes and extend it to other bodies of the Solar System. Doing so requires the interpretation of a wide range of data sets (including planetary LidAR for the Earth, Mars and the Moon), and cutting edge mathematical approaches to their integration. This integration and interpretation are the focus of this proposal shared by Earth scientists of IPGP and Mathematicians of MAP5.

Antoine Lucas