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Building Virtual Worlds that Follow Universal Laws of Physics

Project description

3D physics-based model for evaluating planetary climate predictions

Planetary climate models play a crucial role in comprehending Earth’s climate and climates elsewhere in the universe. However, accurately predicting the climate of different planets poses challenges. To address this gap, the ERC-funded Foundation project is pioneering the development of the first planetary climate simulator: Foundation. This project aims to construct a comprehensive 3D model capable of accurately simulating climate physics by incorporating robust physically-based processes within atmospheres. By doing so, this innovative model will bridge significant gaps in our understanding of various planetary atmospheres, including Jupiter’s turbulent atmosphere, Venus’ atmospheric circulation and Titan’s intricate methane cycle. Importantly, a universal physics-based model like Foundation will be instrumental in evaluating predictions made by Earth’s climate models.

Objective

Planetary climate models are essential to understanding the climate on Earth while also being windows into the many climates that may exist throughout the Universe. However, current models often fail to simulate planets that diverged from Earth-like conditions as they rely on Earth-centric formulations and suffer a shortage of first principle representations. This severely impacts our ability to understand and predict climate change and evolution, as the physical accuracy of the simulations is compromised.

To solve this current gap in our knowledge, I will lead the development of the first planet climate simulator, Foundation. My central role in developing unprecedented 3D planetary atmospheric models from scratch sets me in an advantageous position to successfully lead this ambitious project. Our goal is to use the building blocks of physical processes we know occur in atmospheres, such as fluid flow equations, moist physics and cloud formation, and build up climate physics in a 3D model that achieves accurate simulations. Our novel model will address climate phenomena that remain unsolved in the Solar System due to current model limitations, namely the nature of Jupiter's chaotic atmosphere, Venus's deep atmospheric circulation and Titan's methane cycle. These are major gaps in our knowledge, even with more than 50 years of spacecraft data.

A model based on Universal physics that can reproduce the most challenging climates of the Solar System is extremely valuable to evaluate Earth's climate model predictions. Our approach can strongly impact the robustness of Earth's changing climate simulations and the prediction of extreme weather events, which are becoming increasingly more critical to our living environment.

Foundation's greater climate prediction capabilities will also revolutionise exoplanet atmospheric characterisation and provide a thorough theory on the climate stability of terrestrial planets, essential to our understanding of climate diversity.

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Programme(s)

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Topic(s)

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HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC Grants

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Call for proposal

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(opens in new window) ERC-2023-COG

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Host institution

DANMARKS TEKNISKE UNIVERSITET
Net EU contribution

Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.

€ 1 999 024,00
Address
ANKER ENGELUNDS VEJ 101
2800 KONGENS LYNGBY
Denmark

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Region
Danmark Hovedstaden Københavns omegn
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
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Total cost

The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.

€ 1 999 024,00

Beneficiaries (1)

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