Richard Urata

Affiliation: Bay Area Environmental Research Institute (BAERI)

Division: Space Science and Astrobiology Division (ST)

Branch: Planetary Systems Branch (STT)

Email: richard.a.urata@nasa.gov

Phone: 650-604-3842

Websites: MCMC Homepage | GitHub

Professional Biography

I attended UC Berkeley for my undergraduate studies and graduated with bachelor’s degrees in astronomy and physics in 2005. I went on to attend CU Boulder where I earned my doctorate in astrophysical and planetary sciences in 2012. Following graduation I began a postdoctoral appointment at NASA Ames through the NASA Postdoctoral Program (NPP). After completing the NPP, I joined the Bay Area Environmental Research Institute as a research scientist in 2014 and continue to contribute to the Mars Climate Modeling Center (MCMC).

Education

Ph.D. Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences, University of Colorado at Boulder – 2012

M.A. Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences, University of Colorado at Boulder – 2008

B.S. Astronomy and Physics, University of California Berkeley – 2005

Research Interests

Mars climate modeling, Mars paleoclimate, planetary atmospheres.

Select Publications

Urata, R.A., Bertrand, T., Kahre, M.A., Wilson, R.J., Kling, A.L.M. & Wolff, M.J. (2025). Impact of a bimodal dust distribution on the 2018 Martian global dust storm with the NASA Ames Mars global climate model. Icarus, 429. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2024.116446

Bertrand, T., Kahre, M.A., Urata, R.A., Määttänen, A., Montmessin, F., Wilson, R.J. & Wolff, M.J. (2022). Impact of the coagulation of dust particles on Mars during the 2018 global dust storm. Icarus, 388, 115239–115239. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2022.115239

Haberle, R.M., Kahre, M.A., Hollingsworth, J.L., Montmessin, F., Wilson, R.J., Urata, R.A., … Brecht, A.S., Kling, A.L.M. et al. (2019). Documentation of the NASA/Ames Legacy Mars Global Climate Model: Simulations of the present seasonal water cycle. Icarus, 333, 130–164. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2019.03.026

Urata, R.A. & Toon, O.B. (2013). A new general circulation model for Mars based on the NCAR Community Atmosphere Model. Icarus, 226(1), 336–354. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2013.05.017

Urata, R.A. & Toon, O.B. (2013). Simulations of the martian hydrologic cycle with a general circulation model: Implications for the ancient martian climate. Icarus, 226(1), 229–250. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2013.05.014

Technologies & Software

NASA Ames MCMC (2024, December 6). Ames Mars GCM (Version 3.2) [Computer software]. NASA GitHub. doi: 10.25966/ty4s-w176

NASA Ames MCMC (2024, January 17). Ames Mars GCM (Version 3.1) [Computer software]. NASA GitHub. doi: 10.25966/ty4s-w176

NASA Ames MCMC (2023, November 29). Ames Mars GCM (Version 3.0) [Computer software]. NASA GitHub. doi: 10.25966/ty4s-w176

NASA Ames MCMC (2025). Community Analysis Pipeline (Version 4.0) [Computer software]. NASA Planetary Science GitHub.

NASA Ames MCMC (2024, August 14). Data Portal Web Interface [Web tool]. NASA Ames Research Center, NASA.

NASA Ames MCMC (2023, April 12). NASA Ames Legacy Mars Global Climate Model [Computer software]. NASA GitHub. doi: 10.25966/3tpw-nt26

NASA Ames MCMC (2023). Beta Output Release 1 [Data set]. NASA Ames Mars Climate Modeling Center Data Portal. doi: 10.25966/rjgg-r639

NASA Ames MCMC (2023). Legacy Output Release [Data set]. NASA Ames Mars Climate Modeling Center Data Portal. doi: 10.25966/3tpw-nt26

Selected Seminars & Conference Presentations

Urata, R.A. (2023). CAP Exercises. NASA/AMES Mars Global Climate Model (GCM) and Community Analysis Pipeline (CAP) Tutorial, Virtual.

Awards and Other

NASA Postdoctoral Program Fellow, NASA Ames Research Center (2012–2014)

NASA Graduate Student Research Program Fellow, NASA Ames Research Center (2008–2011)