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Research discussion · Research question · Computational Fluid Dynamics

Planetary Atmospheric Simulation - Usefulness and Limitations of Simple 1D models

Status
Open for contributions
Last updated
25 Oct 2026
Tags
atmospheric modelling · GCM · Mars

Proposed by __Shantanu__ · member-submitted research discussion

The introduction and activity counts are public. Research activity is available to members approved by the research creator.

Discussion introduction · written by the proposer

Why investigate?

How well can simple models reproduce the atmospheres of other planets?

Suppose we wanted to estimate the atmospheric conditions encountered by an aircraft flying above Mars, or understand how conditions might change on a planet with different gravity or atmospheric composition.

Hydrostatic equilibrium, the ideal gas law and an assumed temperature profile can provide useful estimates of atmospheric pressure and density. More sophisticated models account for radiative transfer, convection, atmospheric composition and global circulation.

What is already known?

Atmospheric modelling is a mature field with numerous theoretical, observational and computational resources.

Standard atmospheric models provide reference profiles of temperature, pressure and density. Observational datasets from planetary missions make it possible to study real atmospheric conditions.

One-dimensional climate models can represent additional physical processes, including radiative and convective effects. Three-dimensional general circulation models can investigate spatially varying climate and atmospheric dynamics.

NASA's Planetary Spectrum Generator also allows researchers to investigate how atmospheric conditions affect observable radiation and spectra.

These approaches have different purposes and assumptions. Their outputs should only be compared where the physical quantities and conditions are compatible.

References

  1. [1]
    U.S. Standard Atmosphere, 1976 — NASA Technical Reports Server.
    ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/19770009539
  2. [2]
    THOR - Global Circulation Model for Planetary Atmospheres.
    github.com/exoclime/THOR.git

    For advanced (high-fidelity) simulation studies, also check out the mesh generation algorithm and radiation models, details can be found in the README file of the repo.

  3. [3]
    Mars Climate Database - Web Interface Project.
    www-mars.lmd.jussieu.fr/

    Developed by Lebonnois (LMD Lab, France), provides a nice User-friendly interface for MARS atmospheric data derived from GCM. Good for verification data and understanding.

  4. [4]
    Venus Climate Database - Web interface.
    www-venus.lmd.jussieu.fr/

    Developed by Lebonnois (LMD Lab, France), provides a nice User-friendly interface for VENUS atmospheric data derived from GCM. Good for verification data and understanding.

  5. [5]
  6. [6]
    Community Earth System Model.
    www.cesm.ucar.edu/models/releases

    a fully-coupled, global model that provides state-of-the-art computer simulations of the Earth's past, present, and future climate states

  7. [7]
    Rocke3D GCM.
    data.giss.nasa.gov/rocke3d/maps/

    GCM with web interface

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Research activity

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