Atmospheric general circulations of cloud-covered planets

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An unified theory of planetary atmospheric circulation, which can be applied for wide ranges of physical parameters, is required to study atmospheric dynamics of extrasolar terrestrial planets. The present work elucidates sensitivities of cloud-covered middle-atmospheric general circulation to astronomical parameters. As tilt of the planetary rotation axis is increased, superrotational flow (prograde atmospheric rotation) becomes weaker. For more than 60Ω, subrotational flow (retrograde atmospheric rotation) is formed. In slowly rotating planets, the retrograde rotation rate is limited to -Ω (where Ω is the planetary rotation rate). In addition, the present work elucidates sensitivity of the superrotation to diabatic heating rate below the cloud layer. Small changes in the weak lower-atmospheric heating lead to drastic changes of the middle-atmospheric superrotation.