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Gliese 581g as a scaled-up version of Earth: atmospheric circulation simulations

Heng, Kevin ; Vogt, Steven S.

In: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 2011, vol. 415, no. 3, p. 2145-2157

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    Title
    • Gliese 581g as a scaled-up version of Earth: atmospheric circulation simulations
    Author
    • Heng, Kevin. ETH Zürich, Institute for Astronomy, Wolfgang-Pauli-Strasse 27, CH-8093 Zürich, Switzerland
    • Vogt, Steven S.. UCO/Lick Observatory, University of California, 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA
    Document Type
    • Postprint
    OAI-PMH Identifier
    • oai:doc.rero.ch:290813
    Summary
    We use 3D simulations to study the atmospheric circulation on the first Earth-sized exoplanet discovered in the habitable zone of an M star. We treat Gliese 581g as a scaled-up version of Earth by considering increased values for the exoplanetary radius and surface gravity, while retaining terrestrial values for parameters which are unconstrained by current observations. We examine the long-term, global temperature and wind maps near the surface of the exoplanet - the climate. The specific locations for habitability on Gliese 581g depend on whether the exoplanet is tidally locked and how fast radiative cooling occurs on a global scale. Independent of whether the existence of Gliese 581g is confirmed, our study highlights the use of general circulation models to quantify the atmospheric circulation on potentially habitable, Earth-sized exoplanets, which will be the prime targets of exoplanet discovery and characterization campaigns in the next decade