climate Archives

Density scatter plots comparing estimated versus observed OCO-2 and OCO-3 XCO₂ concentrations for the Stage-1 baseline model (left) and the Stage-2 full Goes model (right). The color gradient denotes local data point density, with warmer colors (yellow/green) indicating regions of higher data concentration. In each panel, the dashed gray line represents the 1:1 line of perfect agreement. -- physics.ao-ph

Quantification Of Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide From The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES East)

by Keith CowingMay 27, 2026May 27, 2026

Editor’s note: One way to search for habitable – and possibly inhabited – worlds in our solar system and in other star systems is to examine planetary atmospheres for chemical […]

ExoCAM simulations of Earth from the present up to 2.0 Gyr in the future, assuming CO2 remains fixed at 400 ppm. The top row shows surface temperature, the middle row shows precipitation minus evaporation, and the bottom row shows the habitability metric developed by Woodward et al. (2025) (Eqs. (D1) and (D2)). All quantities are 20-year averages after the model has reached a steady-state. Increases in temperature due to a brightening sun cause an increase in habitability up to 1.5 Gyr due to the greening of the poles, but habitability decreases significantly by 2.0 Gyr as Earth becomes too hot for complex vegetative life. This corresponds to a weak temperature dependence of weathering, in which Earth’s CO2 levels do not change even as the climate warms (c.f., Graham et al., 2024). -- astro-ph.EP

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Desert Worlds, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Space Agriculture, Status Report, Terraforming & Geoengineering, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Maximum Lifetime Of The Vegetative Biosphere

by Keith CowingMay 23, 2026May 23, 2026

We use a three-dimensional model to calculate steady-state climates at various intervals in Earth’s future, across a parameter space of increasing insolation and decreasing CO2 mixing ratio.

Artistic representation of WASP-94 A b. Clouds build as air flows over the dark side of the planet, reaching a large swell by daybreak. The clouds dissipate on the dayside, leaving clear skies in the early evening. Image courtesy of Hannah Robbins/Johns Hopkins University

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gas Giants, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Astronomers Observe Exoplanet Atmospheres With New Cloud-detecting Method

by Keith CowingMay 22, 2026May 22, 2026

Every morning, clouds roll in, and by evening, they have cleared off. This sounds like a weather forecast for a coastal city here on Earth — but it’s for WASP-94A […]

This system integrates Akatsuki observation data and AFES-Venus numerical simulation forecast data using the LETKF data assimilation method. The release of ALERA-V, objective analysis data that spatiotemporally reconstructs a more "probable" state of the Venusian atmosphere, marks the world's first open data release of data on the Venusian atmosphere. (Credit: Keio University, ISAS/JAXA)

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report, Venus

ALERA-V Version 1.0: An Objective Analysis Dataset of the Venus Atmosphere

by Keith CowingMay 22, 2026May 22, 2026

An objective analysis dataset of the Venus atmosphere, ALERA-V version 1.0, has been released. This objective analysis provides the best estimate of the state of the Venus atmosphere produced by […]

Representation of possible evolutionary pathways for Venus to its present state, starting with a magma ocean phase. The top pathway is for the case where Venus lost much of its water inventory early, while the bottom pathway considers an extended period of surface liquid water until the climate was destabilized. Figure reproduced from Gillmann et al. (2022). -- astro-ph.EP

Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report, Venus, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Seasonal Insolation Variability On Early Venus: Implications For Energy Budget

by Keith CowingMay 20, 2026May 20, 2026

Venus and Earth are similar in bulk properties yet followed dramatically different climatic trajectories.

Schematic summary of the surface temperature response to increasing pN2 on the pCO2 –pN2 plane, comparing Goldblatt et al. (2009, G+09), Wordsworth & Pierrehumbert (2013, WP13), and this work. For Goldblatt et al. (2009), the pink shaded region denotes the parameter range they explored, within which all cases show warming as pN2 increases. For Wordsworth & Pierrehumbert (2013), circles mark the parameter sets shown in their Figure 14a, and the annotation at the top summarizes their reported response. Circle size and color qualitatively indicate the surface temperature, with larger circles and warmer colors corresponding to higher temperatures. In Wordsworth & Pierrehumbert (2013), the sign of the response is inferred from the two data points connected by arrows, which indicate the direction of increasing pN2 . Background shading shows the approximate regimes obtained in this work, namely cooling, warming, and neutral surface-temperature response to increasing pN2. -- astro-ph.EP

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report

Revisiting the Greenhouse Effect of Non-greenhouse Gases in the Atmospheres of Earth-like Planets

by Keith CowingMay 13, 2026May 13, 2026

Although non-greenhouse gases can vary substantially in abundance in Earth-like atmospheres, their climatic influences remain insufficiently understood.

TOP Ice states for HEXTOR calculations based on the THAI Hab 1 configuration, which show smooth transitions from ice-covered to cool dayside to warm dayside to ice-free states as instellation increases. These results do not depend on the choice of initialization temperature. BOTTOM Ice states for HEXTOR calculations based on the THAI Hab 1 configuration, across a parameter space of instellation and CO2 partial pressure. -- astro-ph.EP

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report, TRAPPIST-1, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Exploring TRAPPIST-1 Climate States With An Energy Balance Model

by Keith CowingMay 12, 2026May 12, 2026

This paper presents a version of the HEXTOR energy balance model that has been configured for the study of habitable terrestrial planets orbiting low-mass stars. The model is validated for […]

Snowball Earth -- Grok via Astrobiology.com

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Cryobiology, Extinction events, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Polar / Alpine Expeditions, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Sample Return

A New Explanation For Snowball Earth

by Keith CowingMay 11, 2026May 11, 2026

A new study by Earth scientists in the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) offers an explanation for one of Earth’s great climate puzzles: how […]

South Korea’s GEO-KOMPSAT-2A satellite captured Super Typhoon Sinlaku from orbit. - JAXA/NOAA

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report

Habitable Planet Orbital Recon: GEO-KOMPSAT-2A Views Super Typhoon Sinlak

by Keith CowingApril 28, 2026April 29, 2026

The image on the left is in TrueColor. The image on the right shows water vapor imagery.

WASP-39b transmission spectra and cloud scenarios. Spectra are observed with JWST (orange), HST (magenta), and VLT (green) in comparison to models with different Fe content: full IWF Graz cloud model (black line), Fe[s] replaced (dark gray), FeS[s] replaced (middle gray), and all Fe-binding materials replaced (light gray). The Fe-free mixed-material cloud compositions provide a good fit in the near-IR but not in the optical. — astro-ph.EP

Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gas Giants, Status Report

Exoplanet Climate Characterization With Transit Asymmetries

by Keith CowingApril 28, 2026April 28, 2026

Context. Space missions such as CHEOPS, JWST, and PLATO facilitate detailed characterization of exoplanets, particularly close-in gas giants and their wide range of global temperatures and climate regimes.