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Raymond Pierrehumbert FRS

Halley Professorship of Physics

Research theme

  • Climate physics
  • Exoplanets and planetary physics

Sub department

  • Atmospheric, Oceanic and Planetary Physics

Research groups

  • Climate dynamics
  • Exoplanet atmospheres
  • Exoplanets and Stellar Physics
  • Planetary Climate Dynamics
  • Solar system
raymond.pierrehumbert@physics.ox.ac.uk
Telephone: 01865 (2)72892
Atmospheric Physics Clarendon Laboratory, room Room 211
Site for my textbook, Principles of Planetary Climate
Pierrehumbert Group Site
  • About
  • Publications

Plant power: Burning biomass instead of coal can help fight climate change-but only if done right

BULLETIN OF THE ATOMIC SCIENTISTS 78:3 (2022) 125-127
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Cloud-convection Feedback in Brown Dwarf Atmospheres

ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL 929:2 (2022) ARTN 153

Authors:

Maxence Lefevre, Xianyu Tan, Elspeth KH Lee, RT Pierrehumbert
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Fluid Mechanics: the quintessential complex system

Journal of Fluid Mechanics Cambridge University Press 938 (2022) F1

Abstract:

The 2021 Nobel Prize in Physics recognizes advances in the understanding of complex systems, and underscores that ‘complex’ does not mean ‘imponderable’.
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Atmospheric dynamics of temperate sub-neptunes. I. Dry dynamics

The Astrophysical Journal IOP Publishing 927:1 (2022) 38

Authors:

Hamish Innes, Raymond Pierrehumbert

Abstract:

Sub-Neptunes (planets with radii between 2 and 4 R⊕) are abundant around M-dwarf stars, yet the atmospheric dynamics of these planets is relatively unexplored. In this paper, we aim to provide a basic underpinning of the dry dynamics of general low-mean-molecular-weight, temperate sub-Neptune atmospheres. We use the ExoFMS general circulation model (GCM) with an idealized gray-gas radiation scheme to simulate planetary atmospheres with different levels of instellation and rotation rates, using the atmosphere of K2-18b as our control. We find that the atmospheres of tidally locked (TL), temperate sub-Neptunes have weak horizontal temperature gradients owing to their slow rotation rates and hydrogen-dominated composition. The zonal wind structure is dominated by high-latitude cyclostrophic jets driven by the conservation of angular momentum. At low pressures we observe superrotating equatorial jets, which we propose are driven by a Rossby–Kelvin instability similar to the type seen in simulations of idealized atmospheres with axisymmetric forcing. By viewing the flow in TL coordinates, we find the predominant overturning circulation to be between the day side and night side, and we derive scaling relations linking the TL stream function and vertical velocities to instellation. Comparing our results to the only other GCM study of K2-18b, we find significant qualitative differences in dynamics, highlighting the need for further collaboration and investigation into the effects of different dynamical cores and physical parameterizations. This paper provides a baseline for studying the dry dynamics of temperate sub-Neptunes, which will be built on in part II with the introduction of moist effects.
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Indicate separate contributions of long-lived and short-lived greenhouse gases in emission targets

npj Climate and Atmospheric Science Springer Nature 5 (2022) 5

Authors:

Myles R Allen, Glen P Peters, Keith P Shine, Christian Azar, Olivier Boucher, Michelle Cain, Philippe Ciais, Dave J Frame, Pierre Friedlingstein, Claire Fyson, Thomas Gasser, Bill Hare, Stuart Jenkins, Steven P Hamburg, Daniel JA Johansson, John Lynch, Adrian Macey, Johannes Morfeldt, Alexander Nauels, Michael Oppenheimer, Raymond Pierrehumbert, Carl F Schleussner, Drew Shindell, Stephen M Smith, Katsumasa Tanaka
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