Stratosphere circulation on tidally locked ExoEarths

Abstract

Stratosphere circulation is important to interpret abundances of photo-chemically produced compounds like ozone that we aim to observe to assess habitability of exoplanets. We thus investigate a tidally locked ExoEarth scenario for TRAPPIST-1b, TRAPPIST-1d, Proxima Centauri~b and GJ 667 C~f with a simplified 3D atmosphere model and for different stratospheric wind breaking assumptions. These planets are representatives for different circulation regimes for orbital periods: $P_{orb}=1-100$~days. The circulation of exoplanets with $P_{orb}\le$ 25~days can be dominated by the standing tropical Rossby wave in the troposphere and also in the stratosphere: It leads to a strong equatorial eastward wind jet and to 'Anti-Brewer-Dobson'-circulation that confines air masses to the stratospheric equatorial region. Thus, the distribution of photo-chemically produced species and aerosols may be limited to an 'equatorial transport belt'. In contrast, planets with $P_{orb}>25$~days, like GJ~667~C~f, exhibit efficient thermally driven circulation in the stratosphere that allows for a day side-wide distribution of air masses. The influence of the standing tropical Rossby waves on tidally locked ExoEarths with $P_{orb}\le 25$~days can, however, be circumvented with deep stratospheric wind breaking alone - allowing for equator-to-pole transport like on Earth. For planets with $3\le P_{orb}\le 6$~days, the extratropical Rossby wave acts as an additional safe-guard against the tropical Rossby wave in case of shallow wind breaking. Therefore, TRAPPIST-1d is less prone to have an equatorial transport belt in the stratosphere than Proxima~Centauri~b. Even our Earth model shows an equatorial wind jet, if stratosphere wind breaking is inefficient.

14 pages, 13 figures

References in corpus (8)

• Seven temperate terrestrial planets around the nearby ultracool dwarf star TRAPPIST-1
• A terrestrial planet candidate in a temperate orbit around Proxima Centauri
• Strong Dependence of the Inner Edge of the Habitable Zone on Planetary Rotation Rate
• Transiting exoplanets from the CoRoT space mission VI. CoRoT-Exo-3b: The first secure inhabitant of the brown-dwarf desert
• Prospects for Characterizing the Atmosphere of Proxima Centauri b
• Influence of Stellar Flares on the Chemical Composition of Exoplanets and Spectra
• Sensitivity of Biosignatures on Earth-like Planets orbiting in the Habitable Zone of Cool M-Dwarf Stars to varying Stellar UV Radiation and Surface Biomass Emissions
• Connecting the dots: A versatile model for the atmospheres of tidally locked Super-Earths

Cited by in corpus (5)

• Impact of Clouds and Hazes on the Simulated JWST Transmission Spectra of Habitable Zone Planets in the TRAPPIST-1 System
• Simulations of Water Vapor and Clouds on Rapidly Rotating and Tidally Locked Planets: a 3D Model Intercomparison
• Origins Space Telescope Mission Concept Study Report
• Simulated Phase-dependent Spectra of Terrestrial Aquaplanets in M Dwarf Systems
• Wetter Stratospheres on High Obliquity Planets