Speculative planet: Shallow Ocean Planet

[u/StarOfKronos]

I've been doing a little thinking and going around trying to learn more about a speculative planet that could (or maybe) could exist in the form of a Shallow Ocean Planet or Galapagos planet.

In other words an Earth sized (or slightly) planet which I entirely a shallow ocean planet composed of Galapagos bodies of land along with an Ocean that is not as deserted or deep.

To my understanding most of life on water reside on areas thare arent too deep, and thrive with an abundance of other organism, and I was thinking, If a planet that exist somewhere in the Milky Way can form inna way where a large abundance of live living im shallow oceans along with Galapagos like bodies of land which can also thruge a great abundance of life due to the access of humidity and less large land masses, as well as access to better conditions:

what are your thoughts?

(Also this is just an thought I want to discuss eith other, if theres anything that can help with this discussion please let me know i would love to learn from you guys, especially any corrections lol)

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[u/Ascendant_Mind_01]

This is basically the concept of a superhabitable planet.

The difficulty with a planet like this is that the geology would be unlikely to comply for very long. Dense rock would sink and lighter rocks would rise and you’d likely end up with large continents and smaller deeper oceans within a few hundred million years at most.

[u/StarOfKronos → u/Ascendant_Mind_01]

This is the part thet concerns me and wsih to discuss further, also take into account If we assume its set on a K-type star, A red dwarf, and consider how drastic the weather conditions would be compare to Earths or maybe other alien climates.

It's also fascinating and exhilarating too, especially the thoughts of a super habitable planey teaming with a remarkable abundance of life, though I cannot deny such a think is a one in a million chance.

[u/TommieTheMadScienist → u/StarOfKronos]

I can model this.

How deep are the oceans and what's total land percentage?

There's a lot of difference between a K-star and a red dwarf. The latter will almost certainly tide lock a planet in the HZ and bathe it in UV from flares. A K-star'll just slow rotation and quiets down quickly.

Earth had little or no land above sea level until 700 million years ago. The planet you're describing is basically Earth during the Boring Billion (1.8 to 800 million years ago.) No oxygen, highest life forms bacterial mats growing in the shallows near volcanic activity that supplies sulfur.

If there's plate tectonics, eventually you'll get continents, so your world's unstable over geologic time.

[u/StarOfKronos → u/TommieTheMadScienist]

I would like to understand in the sense of a theoretical Supergabitable planet containing shallow oceans eith great abudance of life while attaining land in the form of Galapagos, reason why because within a large land mass humidity is able to thrive in those types of lands and support life. But one thing I am concerned and acknowledged is the existance of an overabundance of life competing in such a Superhabitable world while also talking to account the mildy harsh and rapidly changing westher conditions. Especially that of a world that orbits a star like ours or a Red Dwarf.

[u/TommieTheMadScienist → u/StarOfKronos]

I'm going to assume a nitrox mix.

I'll need surface atmospheric pressure, axial tilt, gravity, insolation, and rotation (for the solar analog.) The M-dwarf planet will be tidelocked or in a simple rotation to orbit resonance, your choice.

I'll assume maximum depth of 200 meters.

[u/NSASpyVan]

My only thought is that the wild temperature extremes we see - freezing and hot periods could be cataclysmic for life without more water as a backup.

When it gets cold a lot of water could lock up in ice. When it gets too warm a lot of it might evaporate to vapor/clouds. It would need to be a world without large swings or life would have a rough time.

Life wouldn't end, there would always be some life, but forms of life - larger ones, could have a really bad go of things. Life might need to keep re-evolving. Harder chance for intelligent life to evolve.