Surface variability of short-wavelength radiation and temperature on exoplanets around M dwarfs
Zhang, X., Tian, F., Wang, Y., Dudhia, J., & Chen, M. (2017). Surface variability of short-wavelength radiation and temperature on exoplanets around M dwarfs. The Astrophysical Journal, 837, L27. doi:10.3847/2041-8213/aa62fc
It is a common practice to use 3D General Circulation Models (GCM) with spatial resolution of a few hundred kilometers to simulate the climate of Earth-like exoplanets. The enhanced albedo effect of clouds is especially important for exoplanets in the habitable zones around M dwarfs that likely h... Show moreIt is a common practice to use 3D General Circulation Models (GCM) with spatial resolution of a few hundred kilometers to simulate the climate of Earth-like exoplanets. The enhanced albedo effect of clouds is especially important for exoplanets in the habitable zones around M dwarfs that likely have fixed substellar regions and substantial cloud coverage. Here, we carry out mesoscale model simulations with 3 km spatial resolution driven by the initial and boundary conditions in a 3D GCM and find that it could significantly underestimate the spatial variability of both the incident short-wavelength radiation and the temperature at planet surface. Our findings suggest that mesoscale models with cloud-resolving capability be considered for future studies of exoplanet climate. Show less