Building Virtual Worlds that Follow Universal Laws of Physics

Projektbeschreibung

Physikalisches 3D-Modell zur Bewertung planetarischer Klimaprognosen

Planetarische Klimamodelle sind für das Verständnis des Erdklimas und des Klimas in anderen Teilen des Universums entscheidend. Die genaue Vorhersage des Klimas auf verschiedenen Planeten erweist sich jedoch als schwierig. Daher leistet das ERC-finanzierte Projekt Foundation Pionierarbeit bei der Erstellung des ersten planetarischen Klimasimulators namens Foundation. Ziel dieses Projekts ist es, ein umfassendes 3D-Modell zu erstellen, über das die Klimaphysik genau simuliert werden kann, indem es robuste, physikalisch basierte Prozesse innerhalb der Atmosphären einbezieht. So wird dieses innovative Modell bedeutende Lücken in unserem Verständnis verschiedener planetarischer Atmosphären schließen, darunter die turbulente Atmosphäre des Jupiters, die atmosphärische Zirkulation der Venus und der komplizierte Methankreislauf des Titans. Ein universelles physikalisches Modell wie Foundation wird bei der Bewertung der Vorhersagen der Klimamodelle der Erde bedeutsam sein.

Ziel

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.