Articles | Volume 19, issue 12
https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-19-5305-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-19-5305-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Model evaluation paper
| 
22 Jun 2026
Model evaluation paper |
| 22 Jun 2026
| 22 Jun 2026
Benchmarking photolysis rates with Socrates (24.11): species for Earth and exoplanets
Sophia M. Adams
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Department of Physics and Astronomy, Faculty of Environment, Science and Economy, University of Exeter, Exeter, EX4 4QL, UK
James Manners
Met Office, Fitzroy Road, Exeter, EX1 3PB, UK
Nathan Mayne
Department of Physics and Astronomy, Faculty of Environment, Science and Economy, University of Exeter, Exeter, EX4 4QL, UK
Mei Ting Mak
Department of Physics and Astronomy, Faculty of Environment, Science and Economy, University of Exeter, Exeter, EX4 4QL, UK
Atmospheric, Oceanic, and Planetary Physics Department, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3PU, UK
Éric Hébrard
Department of Physics and Astronomy, Faculty of Environment, Science and Economy, University of Exeter, Exeter, EX4 4QL, UK
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Martin R. Willett, Melissa E. Brooks, Andrew Bushell, Paul Earnshaw, Charline Marzin, Samantha Smith, Lorenzo Tomassini, Nathan Luke Abraham, Martin Best, John M. Edwards, Kalli Furtado, Catherine Hardacre, Alan J. Hewitt, Ben Johnson, Adrian Lock, Jane P. Mulcahy, James Manners, Alistair Sellar, Peter Sheridan, Warren Tennant, Kwinten Van Weverberg, Vidya Varma, and Michael Whitall
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-2425, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-2425, 2026
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Geoscientific Model Development (GMD).
Short summary
Short summary
Global Atmosphere and Land (GAL) configurations of the Unified Model (UM) and JULES are developed for use in any global atmospheric modelling application. We describe the latest version, GAL9. We compare GAL9 with its predecessor and show that it gives improved forecasts of weather and climate. GAL9 has been used for weather forecasts in the UK from early 2026 and it will be used to study the Earth's climate.
Denis E. Sergeev, Nathan J. Mayne, Thomas Bendall, Ian A. Boutle, Alex Brown, Iva Kavčič, James Kent, Krisztian Kohary, James Manners, Thomas Melvin, Enrico Olivier, Lokesh K. Ragta, Ben Shipway, Jon Wakelin, Nigel Wood, and Mohamed Zerroukat
Geosci. Model Dev., 16, 5601–5626, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-16-5601-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-16-5601-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Three-dimensional climate models are one of the best tools we have to study planetary atmospheres. Here, we apply LFRic-Atmosphere, a new model developed by the Met Office, to seven different scenarios for terrestrial planetary climates, including four for the exoplanet TRAPPIST-1e, a primary target for future observations. LFRic-Atmosphere reproduces these scenarios within the spread of the existing models across a range of key climatic variables, justifying its use in future exoplanet studies.
Danny McCulloch, Denis E. Sergeev, Nathan Mayne, Matthew Bate, James Manners, Ian Boutle, Benjamin Drummond, and Kristzian Kohary
Geosci. Model Dev., 16, 621–657, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-16-621-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-16-621-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
We present results from the Met Office Unified Model (UM) to study the dry Martian climate. We describe our model set-up conditions and run two scenarios, with radiatively active/inactive dust. We compare both scenarios to results from an existing Mars climate model, the planetary climate model. We find good agreement in winds and air temperatures, but dust amounts differ between models. This study highlights the importance of using the UM for future Mars research.
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Short summary
We perform calculations of photolysis reactions using an existing model but including updated input data. These reactions are important in shaping the composition of our upper atmosphere and that of other planets, for example, controlling ozone formation and destruction. The results of our model are compared with those of previous benchmarks, and rates of various reactions provided to facilitate other researchers in developing accurate schemes to capture photolysis in planetary atmospheres.
We perform calculations of photolysis reactions using an existing model but including updated...
