The Sparse Atmospheric MOdel Sampling Analysis (SAMOSA) intercomparison: Motivations and protocol version 1.0. A CUISINES model intercomparison project

Abstract

Planets in synchronous rotation around low-mass stars are the most salient targets for current ground- and space-based missions to observe and characterize. Such model calculations can help to prioritize targets for observation with current and future missions; however, intrinsic differences in the complexity and physical parameterizations of various models can lead to different predictions of a planet's climate state. Understanding such model differences is necessary if such models are to guide target selection and aid in the analysis of observations. This paper presents a protocol to intercompare models of a hypothetical planet with a 15 day synchronous rotation period around a 3000 K blackbody star across a parameter space of surface pressure and incident instellation. We conduct a sparse sample of 16 cases from a previously published exploration of this parameter space with the ExoPlaSim model. By selecting particular cases across this broad parameter space, the SAMOSA intercomparison will identify areas where simpler models are sufficient as well as areas where more complex GCMs are required. Our preliminary comparison using ExoCAM shows general consistency between the climate state predicted by ExoCAM and ExoPlaSim except in regions of the parameter space most likely to be in a steam atmosphere or incipient runaway greenhouse state. We use this preliminary analysis to define several options for participation in the intercomparison by models of all levels of complexity. The participation of other GCMs is crucial to understand how the atmospheric states across this parameter space differ with model capabilities.

arXiv commentAccepted for publication in the Planetary Science Journal

References in corpus (29)

• The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite
• The James Webb Space Telescope
• The PLATO 2.0 Mission
• Increased insolation threshold for runaway greenhouse processes on Earth like planets
• Planetary Spectrum Generator: an accurate online radiative transfer suite for atmospheres, comets, small bodies and exoplanets
• The Habitability of Planets Orbiting M-dwarf Stars
• The habitability of Proxima Centauri b II. Possible climates and Observability
• The inner edge of the habitable zone for synchronously rotating planets around low-mass stars using general circulation models
• Habitable Moist Atmospheres On Terrestrial Planets Near the Inner Edge Of the Habitable Zone Around M-dwarfs
• Atmospheric dynamics of Earth-like tidally locked aquaplanets
• Day-night cloud asymmetry prevents early oceans on Venus but not on Earth
• Habitable Climate Scenarios for Proxima Centauri b With a Dynamic Ocean
• Demarcating circulation regimes of synchronously rotating terrestrial planets within the habitable zone
• The atmospheric circulation and climate of terrestrial planets orbiting Sun-like and M-dwarf stars over a broad range of planetary parameters
• Water Trapping on Tidally Locked Terrestrial Planets Requires Special Conditions
• TRAPPIST-1 Habitable Atmosphere Intercomparison (THAI). Motivations and protocol version 1.0
• The TRAPPIST-1 Habitable Atmosphere Intercomparison (THAI). Part II: Moist Cases -- The Two Waterworlds
• The TRAPPIST-1 Habitable Atmosphere Intercomparison (THAI). Part I: Dry Cases -- The fellowship of the GCMs
• Ocean Dynamics and the Inner Edge of the Habitable Zone for Tidally Locked Terrestrial Planets
• The TRAPPIST-1 Habitable Atmosphere Intercomparison (THAI). Part III: Simulated Observables -- The return of the spectrum
• Connecting the dots: A versatile model for the atmospheres of tidally locked Super-Earths
• Simulations of Water Vapor and Clouds on Rapidly Rotating and Tidally Locked Planets: a 3D Model Intercomparison
• The Impact of Stellar Distances on Habitable Zone Planets
• No Snowball on Habitable Tidally Locked Planets with a Dynamic Ocean
• The Effect of Land Albedo on the Climate of Land-Dominated Planets in the TRAPPIST-1 System
• Hydrohalite Salt-albedo Feedback Could Cool M-dwarf Planets
• Climate Diversity in the Solar-Like Habitable Zone due to Varying Background Gas Pressure
• Aquaplanet Models on Eccentric Orbits: Effects of Rotation Rate on Observables
• How to Assess the Carbon Footprint of a Large-Scale Physics Project

Cited by in corpus (5)

• Sporadic Spin-Orbit Variations in Compact Multi-planet Systems and their Influence on Exoplanet Climate
• Interpolation and synthesis of sparse samples in exoplanet atmospheric modeling
• Not Earth-like Yet Temperate? More Generic Climate Feedback Configurations Still Allow Temperate Climates in Habitable Zone Exo-Earth Candidates
• Chemistry, Climate, and Transmission Spectra of TRAPPIST-1 e Explored with a Multimodel Sparse Sampled Ensemble
• Assessing the Climate and Habitability of Tidally Locked Rocky Exoplanets