Asymmetries in the simulated ozone distribution on TRAPPIST-1e due to orography

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Main Authors: Bhongade, Anand, Marsh, Daniel R, Sainsbury-Martinez, Felix, Cooke, Gregory J
Format: Preprint
Published: 2024
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author Bhongade, Anand
Marsh, Daniel R
Sainsbury-Martinez, Felix
Cooke, Gregory J
author_facet Bhongade, Anand
Marsh, Daniel R
Sainsbury-Martinez, Felix
Cooke, Gregory J
contents TRAPPIST-1e is a tidally locked rocky exoplanet orbiting the habitable zone of an M dwarf star. Upcoming observations are expected to reveal new rocky exoplanets and their atmospheres around M dwarf stars. To interpret these future observations we need to model the atmospheres of such exoplanets. We configured CESM2-WACCM6, a chemistry climate model, for the orbit and stellar irradiance of TRAPPIST-1e assuming an initial Earth-like atmospheric composition. Our aim is to characterize the possible ozone (O$_3$) distribution and explore how this is influenced by the atmospheric circulation shaped by orography, using the Helmholtz wind decomposition and meridional mass streamfunction. The model included Earth-like orography and the substellar point was located over the Pacific Ocean. For such a scenario, our analysis reveals a North-South asymmetry in the simulated O$_3$ distribution. The O$_3$ concentration is highest at pressures $>$ 10 hPa (below $\sim$30 km) near the South Pole. This asymmetry arises from the higher landmass fraction in the Northern Hemisphere, which causes drag in near-surface flows and leads to an asymmetric meridional overturning circulation. Catalytic species were roughly symmetrically distributed and were not found to be primary driver for the O$_3$ asymmetry. The total ozone column (TOC) density was higher for TRAPPIST-1e compared to Earth, with 8000 Dobson Units (DU) near the South Pole and 2000 DU near the North Pole. The results emphasise the sensitivity of O$_3$ to model parameters, illustrating how incorporating Earth-like orography can affect atmospheric dynamics and O$_3$ distribution. This link between surface features and atmospheric dynamics underlines the importance of how changing model parameters used to study exoplanet atmospheres can influence the interpretation of observations.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2407_02444
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Asymmetries in the simulated ozone distribution on TRAPPIST-1e due to orography
Bhongade, Anand
Marsh, Daniel R
Sainsbury-Martinez, Felix
Cooke, Gregory J
Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
TRAPPIST-1e is a tidally locked rocky exoplanet orbiting the habitable zone of an M dwarf star. Upcoming observations are expected to reveal new rocky exoplanets and their atmospheres around M dwarf stars. To interpret these future observations we need to model the atmospheres of such exoplanets. We configured CESM2-WACCM6, a chemistry climate model, for the orbit and stellar irradiance of TRAPPIST-1e assuming an initial Earth-like atmospheric composition. Our aim is to characterize the possible ozone (O$_3$) distribution and explore how this is influenced by the atmospheric circulation shaped by orography, using the Helmholtz wind decomposition and meridional mass streamfunction. The model included Earth-like orography and the substellar point was located over the Pacific Ocean. For such a scenario, our analysis reveals a North-South asymmetry in the simulated O$_3$ distribution. The O$_3$ concentration is highest at pressures $>$ 10 hPa (below $\sim$30 km) near the South Pole. This asymmetry arises from the higher landmass fraction in the Northern Hemisphere, which causes drag in near-surface flows and leads to an asymmetric meridional overturning circulation. Catalytic species were roughly symmetrically distributed and were not found to be primary driver for the O$_3$ asymmetry. The total ozone column (TOC) density was higher for TRAPPIST-1e compared to Earth, with 8000 Dobson Units (DU) near the South Pole and 2000 DU near the North Pole. The results emphasise the sensitivity of O$_3$ to model parameters, illustrating how incorporating Earth-like orography can affect atmospheric dynamics and O$_3$ distribution. This link between surface features and atmospheric dynamics underlines the importance of how changing model parameters used to study exoplanet atmospheres can influence the interpretation of observations.
title Asymmetries in the simulated ozone distribution on TRAPPIST-1e due to orography
topic Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2407.02444