Developing a hierarchy of models for terrestrial habitability studies

Abstract

We need a hierarchy of models to predict and characterize terrestrial exoplanet atmospheres, as 1D and 3D models have different strengths. While we all know that 3D models come into their own when there are spatial asymmetries or synchronous rotation, it’s important to consider how detectable the modeled phenomenon is to upcoming telescopes. Complementing 3D, 1D is well-suited to near-term transmission observations and will have a valuable role to play in retrieval of atmospheric information from upcoming observations of terrestrial planets.