NASA GISS: Research in Planetary Atmospheres

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Planetary Atmospheres

The planets provide a remarkable array of "experiments" which allow us to test our basic understanding of atmospheric processes, including the greenhouse effect, aerosol and cloud physics, and atmospheric chemistry and dynamics. Utilization of this longstanding NASA tenet depends upon scientists who are engaged in both planetary and terrestrial applications.

While data acquisition and reduction are a necessary first step in increasing the knowledge about a planet, it is the subsequent analysis of these data which increases understanding of the planet and its atmosphere. Interpretation of one-time radiation measurements of a planet allows us to deduce bulk atmospheric composition and the nature and distribution of clouds and aerosols, but continued observation is also necessary. Consider a dataset consisting of a series of full-disk images of a planet's clouds. While the morphology of the clouds contained in one image may be valuable, analyzing the speed and evolution of these clouds would require tracking the clouds from one image to the next, and so on.

Another consideration is that often one cannot interpret observational data without comparison to the results of an atmospheric model, the model providing an objective criterion to how well the observations are understood. To this end, GISS researchers employ a variety of models, from relatively simple simulations of radiative transfer up to full-fledged general circulation models (GCMs). The more complex models, developed through the conversion of Earth GCMs, permit the study of dynamical atmospheric processes, including the role of eddy, diabatic, and dissipative processes in the context of comparative planetary meteorology.

Planetary Atmospheres

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