I am a CNRS research scientist working in Paris, France, at LMD/IPSL, in the Planetary Atmosphere team. I am also a research affiliate at LAB in Bordeaux, France.

My research work lies at the interface between astrophysics, climate sciences and geophysics. My core expertise is the development and use of a hierarchy of sophisticated numerical atmospheric models to study the climates of terrestrial planets located both inside the Solar System (Mars, Earth and Venus) and outside (exoplanets). The goal of this work is to explore new worlds, potentially similar to our own, and from that exploration, to get a unique perspective on our Earth.

While astrophysics fascinates me, I am concerned about the human-driven evolution of Earth's climate. My ambition is to help detect and characterize the atmosphere, clouds and surface of terrestrial-size exoplanets. This scientific endeavour would make it possible to study exoplanets potentially similar to the Earth (at least in size, mass and insolation) but which have evolved in a very different environment from our Earth. It is a unique opportunity to put the Earth, its past and future evolution, in a wider context.

I'm currently at the front line of the observations of the best targets we have so far (TRAPPIST-1 planets, Proxima b, LHS1140b), both with the JWST (James Webb Space Telescope) and future ELT (Extremely Large Telescope) instruments, in particular ANDES for which I'm a member of the science team.

I am also actively working on calculations and laboratory experiments to improve our knowledge of molecular opacities, which is highly technical support work but is yet necessary to achieve these goals.

Do not hesitate to contact me for questions, collaboration, or if you are looking for a postdoc/PhD/internship project!

















Martin TURBET

martin.turbet @ lmd.ipsl.fr

((martin.turbet @ cnrs.fr))

CNRS research scientist
Laboratoire de Meteorologie Dynamique (LMD)
Institut Pierre et Simon Laplace (IPSL)
4 place Jussieu, Tour 45-55, 3eme etage
Paris
FRANCE
Tel: +33 7 82 07 88 40 (mobile)
+33 1 44 27 74 02 (office)

Google Scholar
ORCID
ResearchGate
Mastodon

Born at ~355ppm of CO2

Research Topics and Questions

  • Theoretical and Experimental Spectroscopy, to characterize the radiative properties of atmospheric gases. This effort is essential to improve planetary climate models and interpret observations of exoplanets.
  • What are the possible climates of rocky exoplanets? How does it relate with their potential habitability? How to observe it with telescopes?
  • How to characterize the atmospheres of rocky exoplanets with both low and high-resolution spectroscopy?
  • How close the Earth is from a catastrophic runaway greenhouse? What are the conditions required to form and maintain oceans on Earth, Venus, Mars and exoplanets?
  • Why and how did Earth escape glaciation (a.k.a. Snowball Earth) events?
  • What was the climate(s) and environment(s) of Mars 3-4 billion years ago, while lakes and valley networks were formed?

Short CV

Research
  • January 2022 - now, I am a permanent CNRS research scientist.
  • From September 2015 to September 2018: PhD student at the LMD under the supervision of Francois Forget.
Education
  • In July 2010: I succeeded in the national highly competitive exam of the Ecole Normale Superieure of Paris (aka ENS Ulm).
  • In July 2008: I got my Baccalaureate degree.
Awards
  • Young Scientist Award (a.k.a. the Gruber followship) of the Gruber Foundation, 2019. Awarded by the International Astronomical Union (IAU).
  • Public Award for 'my Thesis in 180 seconds', Sorbonne Universite, 2018 (video).
  • 1st prize for 'my Thesis in 5 minutes', AFA / Ciel & Espace, November 2015.

Media

  • Ciel & Espace newspaper article on the possible existence of ancient oceans on Mars.
  • RTS radio interview on the precise density measurements of TRAPPIST-1 planets.

Teaching

  • Physics teacher at Sorbonne Universite (2016-2018) - 140+ hours Astrophysics / Geosciences / Climate sciences / Space sciences

Advising

PhD students
  • Guillaume CHAVEROT (Geneva University PhD student, 2019-2023). The PhD was co-supervised with Emeline Bolmont, professor at the University of Geneva. Guillaume received two PhD awards from the University of Geneva and the Swiss Society for Astrophysics and Astronomy.
  • Alice MAUREL (Sorbonne University PhD student, 2022-2025). The PhD is co-supervised with Jean-Philippe Beaulieu and Pierre Drossart, CNRS senior scientists at IAP.
  • Keigo TANIGUCHI (Tokyo Tech PhD student, 2023-2026). His main supervisors are Takanori Kodama and Hidenori Genda, professors at ELSI (Japan).
Master students
  • Violette RENNEVILLE, Paris Saclay University (2024), on "Retrievals of exoplanets in reflected light at high spectral resolution"
  • Robin DEBORDE, ISAE SUPAERO (2023), on "Observing Temperate Rocky Exoplanets at high spectral resolution"
  • Rachel SEGUY, ENSTA Bretagne (2023), on "Exploring the stability of oceans on early Venus"
  • Shivom GUPTA, University of Geneva student (2021), on "Revisiting the Maximum Greenhouse Effect"
  • Ecaterina LEONOVA, University of Geneva student (2020), on "Glacier flows on planets"
Bachelor students
    From Geneva University, Sorbonne University (previously known as UPMC), Paris-Saclay University, Ecole Normale Superieure (ENS)

Visitor World Map

Plain Academic