<p>I'm not sure of their current status, but I read some papers based on these models a few years ago:</p>

<ul>
<li><p><a href="https://www2.physics.ox.ac.uk/research/geophysical-fluid-dynamics/research/oxford-planetary-unified-model-system" rel="noreferrer">Oxford Planetary Unified Model System</a> for Venus (OPUS-V), which is based on an old version of the UK Met Office climate model, HadCM3 (<a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pss.2016.09.001" rel="noreferrer">paper</a> from 2016).</p></li>
<li><p>ROCKE-3D at Nasa GISS, which is based on an old version of the GISS ModelE2‐R climate model (<a href="https://climate.nasa.gov/news/2475/nasa-climate-modeling-suggests-venus-may-have-been-habitable/" rel="noreferrer">blog article</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/2016GL069790" rel="noreferrer">paper</a> from 2016).</p></li>
</ul>

<p>It looks like the introduction of <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0019103518304846" rel="noreferrer">Yamamoto et al</a> (2019) has a more up-to-date summary of the current set of models, and there's quite a healthy selection from groups around the world.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-11-23T22:35:33.250Z
Actually i should have asked for a tidally locked Venus model, but you already answered the original question, thank you !
Cornelis
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-11-23T19:44:06.217Z
2019-11-23T19:44:06.217Z
Deditos
<p>I would like to know what would happen with the atmosphere of Venus when it gets tidally locked, i.e. when one side would perpetually face the Sun.<br>
Probably a thermal low would be at the subsolar region then.</p>

<p>At the surface Venus has an atmospheric pressure of <strong>92 atm.</strong> and a temperature of <strong>462<span class="math-container">$⁰$</span> C.</strong></p>

<p>Are there General Circulation Models or Global Climate Models that can handle such input parameters ?</p>

<p>If so, are there GCM users (groups, universities etc.) who could run a tidally locked Venus simulation ?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-11-23T17:38:14.357Z
You'd be more likely to get a good answer if you asked this question on Astronomy Stack.
Michael Walsby
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-11-23T19:49:54.213Z
@BarryCarter The [feeling a few years ago](https://earthscience.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/2/is-planetary-science-on-topic) was that planetary atmospheres are on-topic here because they're on-topic at AGU/EGU.  When it veers into worldbuilding/fiction we tend to close.
Deditos
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-11-24T00:51:40.753Z
A tidally locked Venus would be no different on the surface than current Venus: The atmosphere is so thick and the winds are superrotating, which causes heat redistribution to be very efficient, and hence, Venus is horizontally isothermal on the surface. Tidal locking won't change that.
AtmosphericPrisonEscape
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-11-24T09:47:44.353Z
@AtmosphericPrisonEscape Nevertheless i would think that in the course of many (maybe thousands) years the thermal low would go deeper and deeper into the atmosphere, eventually reaching the surface. When the causes of the rotating winds  (the rotation of the planet and diurnal heating) are not there anymore then they would stop because of that, won't they ?
Cornelis
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-11-24T11:23:54.673Z
Atmospheres attain vertical radiative balance within seconds, and convective energy transport in the lower parts of the vertical is as fast as the convective velocity works, which is on the timescale of hours at the worst. Therefore no adjustment on the timescale of many years will happen. And the heat redistribution properties of supercritical $CO_2$ won't just magically disappear, as wont the equatorial jets.
AtmosphericPrisonEscape
<climate-models>
Are there General Circulation Models that can simulate the atmosphere of Venus?
Cornelis
# Are there General Circulation Models that can simulate the atmosphere of Venus?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2019-11-23)

I would like to know what would happen with the atmosphere of Venus when it gets tidally locked, i.e. when one side would perpetually face the Sun.  
Probably a thermal low would be at the subsolar region then.

At the surface Venus has an atmospheric pressure of **92 atm.** and a temperature of **462$⁰$ C.**

Are there General Circulation Models or Global Climate Models that can handle such input parameters ?

If so, are there GCM users (groups, universities etc.) who could run a tidally locked Venus simulation ?

**Tags:** climate-models

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: You'd be more likely to get a good answer if you asked this question on Astronomy Stack.  
> **username_2**: @BarryCarter The [feeling a few years ago](https://earthscience.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/2/is-planetary-science-on-topic) was that planetary atmospheres are on-topic here because they're on-topic at AGU/EGU.  When it veers into worldbuilding/fiction we tend to close.  
> **username_3**: A tidally locked Venus would be no different on the surface than current Venus: The atmosphere is so thick and the winds are superrotating, which causes heat redistribution to be very efficient, and hence, Venus is horizontally isothermal on the surface. Tidal locking won't change that.  
> **username_0**: @username_3 Nevertheless i would think that in the course of many (maybe thousands) years the thermal low would go deeper and deeper into the atmosphere, eventually reaching the surface. When the causes of the rotating winds  (the rotation of the planet and diurnal heating) are not there anymore then they would stop because of that, won't they ?  
> **username_3**: Atmospheres attain vertical radiative balance within seconds, and convective energy transport in the lower parts of the vertical is as fast as the convective velocity works, which is on the timescale of hours at the worst. Therefore no adjustment on the timescale of many years will happen. And the heat redistribution properties of supercritical $CO_2$ won't just magically disappear, as wont the equatorial jets.  

---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2019-11-23. Score: 5 | Accepted answer

I'm not sure of their current status, but I read some papers based on these models a few years ago:

* [Oxford Planetary Unified Model System](https://www2.physics.ox.ac.uk/research/geophysical-fluid-dynamics/research/oxford-planetary-unified-model-system) for Venus (OPUS-V), which is based on an old version of the UK Met Office climate model, HadCM3 ([paper](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pss.2016.09.001) from 2016).
* ROCKE-3D at Nasa GISS, which is based on an old version of the GISS ModelE2‐R climate model ([blog article](https://climate.nasa.gov/news/2475/nasa-climate-modeling-suggests-venus-may-have-been-habitable/) and [paper](https://doi.org/10.1002/2016GL069790) from 2016).

It looks like the introduction of [Yamamoto et al](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0019103518304846) (2019) has a more up-to-date summary of the current set of models, and there's quite a healthy selection from groups around the world.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Actually i should have asked for a tidally locked Venus model, but you already answered the original question, thank you !  

---

