Isca is a framework for the idealized modelling of the global circulation of planetary atmospheres at varying levels of complexity and realism. The framework is an outgrowth of models from GFDL designed for Earth's atmosphere, but it may readily be extended into other planetary regimes. Various forcing and radiation options are available, from a dry Newtonian relaxation to a moist dynamics with full radiation. At the simple end of the spectrum a Held-Suarez case is available as well as an extension mimicking the effects of obliquity, different optical depths and a mixed layer, thus allowing seasonality and other planetary regimes within a Newtonian-relaxation framework. An idealized gray radiation scheme, a gray scheme with moisture feedback, a two-band scheme and a multi-band scheme are also available, all with simple moist effects and astronomically-based solar forcing. At the complex end of the spectrum the framework provides a direct connection to comprehensive atmospheric general circulation models.
For Earth modelling, options include an aqua-planet and configurable (idealized or realistic) continents with idealized or realistic topography. Continents may be defined by changing albedo, heat capacity and evaporative parameters, and/or by using a simple bucket hydrology model. Oceanic Q-fluxes may be added to reproduce specified sea-surface temperatures, with any continents or on an aquaplanet. Planetary atmospheres may be configured by changing planetary size and mass, solar forcing, atmospheric mass, radiative, and other parameters. Examples are given of various Earth configurations as well as a Jovian simulation, a Venusian simulation, and tidally-locked and other orbitally-resonant simulations.
The underlying model is written in Fortran and may largely be configured with Python scripts, with internal coding changes required for non-standard cases. Python scripts are also used to run the model on different architectures, to archive the output, and for diagnostics, graphics, and post-processing. All of these features are publicly available on a git-based repository.