{
  "abstract": "Rocky exoplanets orbiting M dwarf stars are often assumed to be synchronously rotating, such that water-trapping in ice sheets on the permanent nightside may pose a threat to habitability. However, in compact M dwarf systems, gravitational interactions between planets may cause the substellar point to librate or circulate on millennial timescales and sporadically change direction or speed. Here, we use a 3D global climate model to quantify, for the first time, the water-trapping capabilities of these \"near\"-synchronously rotating exoplanets, with TRAPPIST-1e as our test case. Across a range of synodic day lengths, we find that there is a permanent polar ice reservoir and an increasingly large build-up of lower-latitude transient nightside ice for longer days. A persistent ice-free region develops on the dayside where surface conditions can sustain liquid water. However, this steady-state ice distribution may never be realized since the accumulation timescale may be slower than changes in the spin regime. Additionally, we revise the nightside ice build-up on a synchronously rotating exoplanet using a coupled atmosphere+ice numerical model that accounts for atmospheric lapse rate and isostatic adjustment feedbacks. We find that accounting for this ice-elevation feedback reduces the predicted ice accumulation by a factor of ~3. Taken together, our study suggests that water-trapping in ice sheets is less severe than previously thought for land planets orbiting M dwarf stars.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": "2610.33884",
  "author_total": 7,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "Sarah Silverman"
    },
    {
      "name": "Thomas Navarro"
    },
    {
      "name": "Martin Turbet"
    },
    {
      "name": "Nicolas B. Cowan"
    },
    {
      "name": "Natalya Gomez"
    },
    {
      "name": "Siddharth Bhatnagar"
    },
    {
      "name": "Emeline Bolmont"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/fx5svq3e0ehv8.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.48550/arxiv.2610.33884",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "fx5svq3e0ehv8",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.33884",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "LicenseRef-arXiv-nonexclusive-1.0",
  "licence_label": "arXiv licence",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "http://arxiv.org/licenses/nonexclusive-distrib/1.0/",
  "metadata_licence": "CC0-1.0",
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "arxiv",
      "astro-ph.EP"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "3103|Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7224018957",
  "pdf_url": "https://arxiv.org/pdf/2610.33884",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-24",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/fx5svq3e0ehv8.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:35:35Z",
      "native_id": "2610.33884",
      "source": "arxiv",
      "url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.33884"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "astronomy",
      "origin": "arxiv:astro-ph.EP",
      "subfield": "planetary"
    }
  ],
  "title": "The Fate of Ice Sheets on Near-Synchronously Rotating Land Planets",
  "title_text": "The Fate of Ice Sheets on Near-Synchronously Rotating Land Planets",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:35:35Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/fx5svq3e0ehv8",
  "venue": "arXiv",
  "versions": []
}