Modelling the atmospheres of terrestrial exoplanets over a large range of stellar fluxes

The project will explore the fate of water on hyopthetical tidally-locked exoplanets similar to Proxima b. Tidally-locked planets are those which always show one face to the moon, very much as the Moon does to the Earth. The planets have very different atmospheric circulation and surface conditions compared with so-called rapidly rotating planets such as Earth. However, it it possible that they could have nitrogen-dominated atmospheres, a hydrological cycle and Earth-like temperatures meaning they could be suitable to host life. On such a planet, how long can water remain on the planet, or is it lost to space due to photolysis caused by incoming stellar radiation at the top of the planet's atmosphere? Alternatively, is water lost to large ice sheets on the night side of the planet? The project will use a comprehensive numerical general circulation model, similar to that used to make weather forecasts for the UK.