About the project
Simulating the Venus climate has been a challenge for scientists for over 40 years. The planet's unique conditions offer a chance to test our computational models in extreme circumstances. It's crucial to understand the physics behind Venus's climate to help us characterize the climate of exoplanets similar to Venus.
Venus, the planet in the Solar System most similar to Earth in terms of mass and size, has a massive CO2 atmosphere that creates extremely harsh conditions on its surface. The planet is completely covered by clouds containing a mixture of sulphuric acid and water droplets. Venus's atmospheric circulation has physical dynamic features that are not well understood, including super-rotation, where the air moves much faster than the planet itself, and a polar vortex that changes rapidly.
You will use a cutting-edge computational model of planetary climates (OASIS) to create 3D simulations of Venus and Venus-like atmospheres that go beyond the current state of the art. You will have access to high-performance computing facilities, opportunities to engage in international collaborations, visits to other research groups abroad, and to acquire new skills in modern high-performance computing techniques for simulating the fundamental physics of planetary climates.
In this project, you will:
- investigate the role of clouds in driving observed dynamical features in the atmosphere, such as super-rotation and polar vortex
- analyse results from simulations with unprecedently high spatial resolution
- explore 3D simulations of exoplanets with astronomical parameters resembling Venus conditions and develop tools for characterizing the atmosphere of these planets using observations from the James Webb Space Telescope
You will join the new research group in planetary sciences at the University of Southampton. Thanks to the successful Horizon Europe Guarantee grant, the group will soon grow to 8 members.
