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<!DOCTYPE HTML><html lang="en"> <head> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=utf-8" /> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="https://www.giss.nasa.gov/css/css2104.css" media="all" /> <meta http-equiv="X-UA-Compatible" content="IE=edge"/> <title>Data.GISS: Simulations of Planetary Climates with ROCKE-3D</title> <link rel="stylesheet" href="css/maps-setup.css"> <link rel="apple-touch-icon" href="/gfx/apple-touch-icon-180x180.png" /> <link rel="apple-touch-icon-precomposed" href="/gfx/apple-touch-icon-180x180.png" /> <link rel="apple-touch-icon" sizes="192x192" href="/gfx/apple-touch-icon-192x192.png" /> <link rel="apple-touch-icon" sizes="180x180" href="/gfx/apple-touch-icon-180x180.png" /> <link rel="apple-touch-icon" sizes="152x152" href="/gfx/apple-touch-icon-152x152.png" /> <link rel="apple-touch-icon" sizes="128x128" href="/gfx/apple-touch-icon-128x128.png" /> <link rel="apple-touch-icon" sizes="76x76" href="/gfx/apple-touch-icon-76x76.png" /> <meta name="orgcode" content="611" /> <meta name="rno" content="Gavin.A.Schmidt.1" /> <meta name="content-owner" content="Robert.B.Schmunk.1" /> <meta name="webmaster" content="Robert.B.Schmunk.1" /> <meta name="viewport" content="width=956, initial-scale=1" /><script id="_fed_an_ua_tag" src="https://dap.digitalgov.gov/Universal-Federated-Analytics-Min.js?agency=NASA&subagency=GISS&yt=true&dclink=true" async="async"></script> </head> <body> <div id="bkg1"><div id="bkg2"></div></div> <div id="page"> <div class="hidden"> <a href="#content" title="Go to Main Content" accesskey="2">Go to Main Content (Accesskey 2)</a><br /><a href="#nav" title="Go to Site Menu" accesskey="3">Go to Site Menu (Accesskey 3)</a></div> <div id="header"> <div id="headerlogo"> <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/"><img src="https://www.giss.nasa.gov/gfx/2013/nasa_x2.png" alt="NASA Logo, National Aeronautics and Space Administration" style="width:140px;height:98px" /></a></div> <div id="centername"> <h1><a href="https://www.nasa.gov/">National Aeronautics and Space Administration</a></h1> <h2><a href="https://www.giss.nasa.gov/">Goddard Institute for Space Studies</a></h2></div> <div id="hierarchy"> <h2><a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard/">Goddard Space Flight Center</a><br /><a href="https://science.gsfc.nasa.gov/sci">Sciences and Exploration Directorate</a><br /><a href="https://science.gsfc.nasa.gov/earth">Earth Sciences Division</a></h2></div></div> <div id="paper" class="widepage"> <div id="content"><div id="cpad"> <h2>Simulations of Planetary Climates with ROCKE-3D</h2> <p> The ROCKE-3D general circulation model (GCM), an outgrowth of the parent GISS Earth GCM ModelE, is designed to study different points in the history of our own planet and other Solar System terrestrial planets, as well as exoplanets. Our research supports NASA's objective to search for life elsewhere by determining which types of planets are most likely to be habitable and what NASA might do to characterize these planets and eventually find evidence of life. On this page we provide results obtained from simulations of several planets and various time periods.</p> <p> The user can select parameters on the form below to create maps of a variety of climate variables for a planet chosen in Data Source A. If two different time periods or planet configurations for a given planet are chosen as Data Sources A and B, the resulting figure will be the difference between A and B. Brief descriptions of each planet or time period <a href="#inputelements">are given below</a>. Please take note of comments regarding the continent outlines for the Huronian and Archaean Earth simulations. </p> <div class="floatcenter"> <form id="map_form" action="/cgi-bin/rocke3d/amaps_model.cgi" method="POST"> <table id="formtable" role="presentation"> <tr> <td class="rowlabel"><label for="dataset">Data Sources A</label>:</td> <td> <select name="dataset" id="dataset"> <optgroup label="Proxima Centauri b"> <option value="1">synchronous, Earthlike atmosphere</option> <option value="2">synchronous, CO2 atmosphere</option> <option value="3">3:2 resonance</option> </optgroup> <optgroup label="Ancient Earth"> <option value="6">Cretaceous, 4×CO2</option> <option value="7">Sturtian</option> <option value="8">Huronian</option> <option value="4">Archean</option> </optgroup> <optgroup label="Venus"> <option value="5">Ancient</option> </optgroup> <optgroup label="Modern Earth"> <option value="9">Pre-industrial</option> <option value="10">2x CO2</option> <option value="11">4x CO2</option> </optgroup> </select> </td> </tr> <tr> <td class="rowlabel"><label for="datasetb">Data Sources B</label>:</td> <td> <select name="datasetb" id="datasetb"> <option value="0">None</option> <optgroup label="Proxima Centauri b"> <option value="1">synchronous, Earthlike atmosphere</option> <option value="2">synchronous, CO2 atmosphere</option> <option value="3">3:2 resonance</option> </optgroup> <optgroup label="Ancient Earth"> <option value="4">Archean</option> <option value="6">Cretaceous, 4×CO2</option> <option value="7">Sturtian</option> <option value="8">Huronian</option> </optgroup> <optgroup label="Venus"> <option value="5">Ancient</option> </optgroup> <optgroup label="Modern Earth"> <option value="9">Pre-industrial</option> <option value="10">2x CO2</option> <option value="11">4x CO2</option> </optgroup> </select> </td> </tr> <tr> <td class="rowlabel"><label for="variable">Variable</label>:</td> <td> <select name="variable" id="variable"> <option value="topog">topography (m)</option> <option value="incsw_toa">stellar heating of planet (W/m2)</option> <option selected value="tsurf">surface temperature (deg. C)</option> <option value="prec">precipitation (mm/day)</option> <option value="oicefr">sea ice fraction (%)</option> <option value="snowdp">snow depth (mm)</option> <option value="gwtr">soil moisture (kg/m2)</option> <option value="qatm">column water vapor (mm)</option> <option value="slp">sea level pressure (mb - 1000)</option> <option value="phi_500">500 mb height (m - 5600)</option> <option value="plan_alb">planetary albedo (%)</option> <option value="srnf_toa">absorbed starlight (W/m2)</option> <option value="trnf_toa">emitted heat (-W/m2)</option> <option value="pcldt">cloud cover (%)</option> </select><br/> </td> </tr> <tr> <td class="rowlabel" style="vertical-align:middle"><label for="pol">Map Projection</label>:</td> <td style="vertical-align:middle"> <select name="pol" id="pol"> <option value="reg">Equirectangular</option> <option value="rob" selected="selected">Robinson</option> <option value="ver">Orthographic</option> <option value="pol">Polar Orthographic</option> </select> </td> </tr> <tr id="scale_range"> <td class="rowlabel" style="vertical-align:middle">Scale Range:</td> <td style="vertical-align:middle"> <label for="scale_min">Min</label> <input type="number" id="scale_min" name="scale_min" value="" step="0.01"/> — <label for="scale_max">Max</label> <input type="number" id="scale_max" name="scale_max" value="" step="0.01"/> </td> </tr> <tr> <td class="rowlabel" style="vertical-align:middle">Center on:</td> <td style="vertical-align:middle"> <label for="center_lon">Longitude</label> <input type="number" name="center_lon" id="center_lon" value="0" min="-180" max="180"/> <label for="center_lat">Latitude</label> <input type="number" name="center_lat" id="center_lat" value="0" min="-90" max="90" disabled/> </td> </tr> <tr> <td class="rowlabel" style="vertical-align:middle"><label for="colormap">Color Table</label>:</td> <td style="vertical-align:middle"> <select name="colormap" id="colormap"> <option value="panoply">Panoply</option> <option value="panoply_diff" selected="selected">Panoply_diff</option> <option value="NEO_concentration">NEO_concentration</option> <option value="NEO_snow_water">NEO_snow_water</option> <option value="NEO_temp_anom">NEO_temp_anom</option> <option value="GMT_drywet">GMT_drywet</option> </select> </td> </tr> <tr> <td class="rowlabel" style="vertical-align:middle"></td> <td style="vertical-align:middle"> <label for="interpolation">Interpolation</label> <input checked type="checkbox" name="interpolation" id="interpolation" /> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> </td> <td><input type="submit" value="Make Map A-B (or A)"/></td> </tr> </table> <p class="ednote" style="text-align:center"> Note that generating figures takes 5 or 6 seconds; please be patient.</p> </form> </div> <div id="map_results"></div> <h3 style="clear: both; padding-top:12px" id="inputelements">Simulated Planets</h3> <h4>Proxima Centauri b</h4> <p>A planet discovered orbiting the star nearest to Earth. It is not known whether Proxima Centauri b has an atmosphere or how fast it rotates. We show three hypothetical climates:</p> <ol> <li>A planet that keeps the same face toward the star at all times, with an Earthlike 1 bar atmosphere made of N<sub>2</sub> and 376 ppmv of CO<sub>2</sub> </li> <li>A planet that keeps the same face toward the star at all times, with a 1 bar CO<sub>2</sub> atmosphere </li> <li>A planet that rotates on its axis 3 times for every 2 orbits around its star, with an Earthlike atmosphere made of N<sub>2</sub> and 376 ppmv of CO<sub>2</sub> </li> </ol> <p>Further discussion of these simulations appears in Del Genio et al. (2018).</p> <h4>Ancient Earth</h4> <p>Four periods going successively farther back in time:</p> <ol> <li>The Cretaceous Period of the Phanerozoic Eon (circa 100 million years ago), a “greenhouse” interval when dinosaurs roamed the Earth, the continents were more closely spaced, and the climate was warmer than today due to an increased level of CO<sub>2</sub>. We simulate the Cretaceous here with a CO<sub>2</sub> level of 1140 ppmv (~1.15 mb), 4 times greater than the modern pre-industrial value. </li> <li>The Sturtian glacial interval of the Proterozoic Eon (circa 715 million years ago), when the climate was very cold thanks to multiple factors that include a Sun that was 6% dimmer than today, and reduced greenhouse gas warming (here simulated by a CO<sub>2</sub> level of just 40 ppmv, or ~0.04 mb). The supercontinent Rodinia was just beginning to break apart, with most land masses still closely packed near the equator. </li> <li>The Huronian glacial interval of the Proterozoic Eon (circa 2.1 billion years ago), when the climate was so cold that the Earth’s oceans could have frozen over entirely, making Earth look like a snowball. Factors that led to this ice age include a Sun that was 16% dimmer than today, and reduced greenhouse gas warming (here simulated by a CO<sub>2</sub> level of 40 ppmv, ~0.04 mb) that may have been caused by the first significant increase in atmospheric oxygen. We are unsure where the continents were at this time, so this simulation uses the same configuration as the Sturtian. </li> <li>The Mesoarchean Era of the Archean Eon (circa 2.9 billion years ago), when the Sun was 20% dimmer than today, oxygen was not yet present, and it was likely that the atmosphere had much more CO<sub>2</sub> (10 mb) and CH<sub>4</sub> (2 mb) than it does today. Earth’s land-ocean configuration is at this time is unknown (the continents may not even have been exposed); the simulation assumes modern Earth continents. (Further discussion of this time appears in De Genio et al. (2020).) </li> </ol> <h4>Ancient Venus</h4> <p>Today Venus has a thick, hot CO<sub>2</sub> atmosphere and is uninhabitable. But early in its history, it may have been more like Earth. This simulation shows a hypothetical ancient Venus 2.9 billion years ago under a 20% dimmer Sun, assuming that Venus rotated as slowly as it does now (once every 243 days), had a modern Earthlike atmosphere (1 bar N<sub>2</sub> and 400 ppmv of CO<sub>2</sub>), and had a shallow 310 m ocean that filled in its current lowland areas. The simulation portrays a two-month period of Venus's year to emphasize the solar heating of the dayside.</p> <p>Further discussion of these simulations appears in Way et al. (2016).</p> <h4>Modern Earth</h4> <p>The time period covered goes from the pre-industrial (1850) era to current times. Selected experiments for the CMIP6 project are shown, including investigations of some future scenarios and sensitivity tests for various forcings.</p> <h3>References and Use</h3> <p>Please see the GISS <a href="https://www.giss.nasa.gov/projects/astrobio">Astrobiology — NExSS ROCKE-3D project</a> for more information related to this research.</p> <p>These results are freely available for public use. We request that if you use them in any publication or online application, you acknowledge the NExSS ROCKE-3D project and cite:</p> <p>Way, M.J., I. Aleinov, D.S. Amundsen, M.A. Chandler, T. Clune, A.D. Del Genio, Y. Fujii, M. Kelley, N.Y. Kiang, L. Sohl, and K. Tsigaridis, 2017: <a href="https://pubs.giss.nasa.gov/abs/wa00700s.html"> Resolving Orbital and Climate Keys of Earth and Extraterrestrial Environments with Dynamics 1.0: A general circulation model for simulating the climates of rocky planets</a>. <cite>Astrophys. J. Supp. Series</cite>, <b>231</b>, no. 1, 12, doi:10.3847/1538-4365/aa7a06. </p> <p>Related papers include:</p> <p>Way, M.J., A.D. Del Genio, N.Y. Kiang, L.E. Sohl, D.H. Grinspoon, I. Aleinov, M. Kelley, and T. Clune, 2016: <a href="https://pubs.giss.nasa.gov/abs/wa06600o.html"> Was Venus the first habitable world of our solar system?</a> <cite>Geophys. Res. Lett.</cite>, <b>43</b>, no. 16, 8376-8383, doi:10.1002/2016GL069790.</p> <p>Del Genio, A.D., M.J. Way, D.S. Amundsen, I. Aleinov, M. Kelley, N.Y. Kiang, and T.L. Clune, 2018: <a href="https://pubs.giss.nasa.gov/abs/de09600r.html"> Habitable climate scenarios for Proxima Centauri b with a dynamic ocean</a>. <cite>Astrobiology</cite>, <b>19</b>, no. 1, 99-125, doi:10.1089/ast.2017.1760.</p> <p> Del Genio, A.D., D. Brain, L. Noack, and L. Schaefer, 2020: <a href="https://pubs.giss.nasa.gov/abs/de03700v.html">The inner Solar System's habitability through time</a>, in <cite>Planetary Astrobiology</cite>, University of Arizona Press, in press </p> <h3>Contact</h3> <p> Please address scientific inquiries about these data to <a href="https://www.giss.nasa.gov/staff/mway.html"> Dr. Michael Way</a>. </p> <h4 class="goback">➤ Go to <a href="https://www.giss.nasa.gov/projects/astrobio/">GISS Astrobiology / NExSS Project</a></h4> <script src="js/jquery-2.1.4.min.js"></script> <script src="js/maps-setup.js"></script> <script src="js/spin.js"></script> <div class="clear"></div></div></div> <div id="nav" class="iconified"><h3><img src="https://www.giss.nasa.gov/gfx/menu_icon1.png" alt="Site Menu" title="Site Menu" class="menuicon" style="width:28px;height:28px" /></h3> <ul id="mnav"> <li><a href="https://www.giss.nasa.gov/">GISS Home</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.giss.nasa.gov/research/">News & Features</a> <ul class="mnav2"> 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