ExoCAM GCM Archives - Astrobiology

Wind fields in our imposed TOA 𝐴𝑏 = 0.6 case.

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

General Circulation Models Of Hycean Worlds

by Keith CowingNovember 12, 2025November 12, 2025

Sub-Neptunes represent the current frontier of exoplanet atmospheric characterisation. A proposed subset, Hycean planets, would have liquid water oceans and be potentially habitable, but there are many unanswered questions about […]

Maps of surface temperature (colors) and 430 hPa winds (arrows) for each GCM simulation with all CO2 cases (each column) having independent color bars. The substellar point is located at (0◦ , 0◦ ). The substellar point is hottest at lower obliquities, and the poles are hotter than the equator at higher obliquities. Day-night surface temperature contrasts and resulting planetary-scale atmospheric wave patterns, like Rossby gyres, are more prominent for the cases with less CO2. For the higher obliquity cases the direction of the equatorial wind speed reverses from eastward to westward. -- astro-ph.EP

Astronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report, TRAPPIST-1

The Coupled Impacts of Atmospheric Composition and Obliquity on the Climate Dynamics of TRAPPIST-1e

by Keith CowingMay 13, 2024May 13, 2024

Planets in multi-planet systems are expected to migrate inward as near-resonant chains, thus allowing them to undergo gravitational planet-planet interactions and possibly maintain a non-zero obliquity.

Median temperature (K) differences between high and low pCO2 scenarios and median wind speeds (m s−1) for each scenario for Earth-like (a, c) and TRAPPIST-1e (b, d) ExoCAM simulations at (a, b) upper and (c, d) near-surface levels. Black and green quivers represent the high and low pCO2 scenarios, respectively. Using the Wilcoxon Rank-Sum test, lime and magenta-filled contours for wind speed and temperature represent areas not statistically significant at the 5% level, respectively. -- The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Press Release, TRAPPIST-1

Greenhouse Gas Supplement Increases Warming And Alters Circulation Patterns On Earth and Earth-like Exoplanets

by Keith CowingJuly 13, 2023July 13, 2023

With the launch of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), the study of exoplanetary atmospheres and their potential habitability reached new heights. A team of researchers led by Dr. Assaf […]

Median temperature (K) differences between high and low pCO2 scenarios and median wind speeds (m s-1 ) for each scenario for Earth-like (a, c) and TRAPPIST-1e (b, d) ExoCAM simulations at (a, b) upper and (c, d) near-surface levels. Black and green quivers represent the high and low pCO2 scenarios, respectively. Using the Wilcoxon Rank-Sum test, lime and magenta-filled contours for wind speed and temperature represent areas not statistically significant at the 5% level, respectively. -- astro-ph.EP

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report, TRAPPIST-1

Analogous Response Of Temperate Terrestrial Exoplanets And Earth’s Climate Dynamics To Greenhouse Gas Supplement

by Keith CowingJuly 6, 2023July 6, 2023

Humanity is close to characterizing the atmospheres of rocky exoplanets due to the advent of JWST. These astronomical observations motivate us to understand exoplanetary atmospheres to constrain habitability.

Radiative profiles for Aq34.

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Press Release

‘Terminator Zones’ On Distant Planets Could Harbor Life

by Keith CowingMarch 17, 2023March 17, 2023

In a new study, University of California, Irvine astronomers describe how extraterrestrial life has the potential to exist on distant exoplanets inside a special area called the “terminator zone,” which […]

Wolf 1069 b

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release

The CARMENES Search For Exoplanets Around M Dwarfs, Wolf 1069 b: Earth-mass Planet In The Habitable Zone Of A Nearby, Very Low-mass Star

by Keith CowingJanuary 9, 2023January 9, 2023

We present the discovery of an Earth-mass planet (Mbsini=1.36±0.21M⊕) on a 15.6d orbit of a relatively nearby (d∼9.6pc) and low-mass (0.167±0.011M⊙) M5.0V star, Wolf 1069.