Related papers: Widespread Excess Ice in Arcadia Planitia, Mars
Data assimilation is an increasingly popular technique in Mars atmospheric science, but its effect on the mean states of the underlying atmosphere models has not been thoroughly examined. The robustness of results to the choice of model and…
Observations and simulations show that Mars' atmosphere has large seasonal variations. Total atmospheric density can have an order of magnitude latitudinal variation at exobase heights. By numerical simulations we show that these latitude…
Using the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM), we map the temporal variability of water ice absorption bands over the near-polar ice mound in Louth crater, Mars. The absorption band depth of water ice at 1.5 microns…
It is still unknown how much water has escaped from Mars during its history. Hydrogen escape from Mars's atmosphere probably played a major role in drying the planet, but present-day Hloss rates (about 3x10^26 atoms per second on average)…
Reducing atmospheres have recently emerged as a promising scenario to warm the surface of early Mars enough to drive the formation of valley networks and other ancient aqueous features that have been detected so far on the surface of Mars.…
Airborne dust plays an active role in determining the thermal structure and chemical composition of the present-day atmosphere of Mars and possibly the planet's climate evolution over time through radiative--convective and cloud…
What was the nature of the Late Hesperian climate? Warm and wet or cold and dry? Formulated this way the question leads to an apparent paradox since both options seem implausible. A warm and wet climate would have produced extensive fluvial…
A recent study by Ramirez et al. (2014) demonstrated that an atmosphere with 1.3-4 bar of CO2 and H2O, in addition to 5-20% H2, could have raised the mean annual and global surface temperature of early Mars above the freezing point of…
We discuss 3D global simulations of the early Martian climate that we have performed assuming a faint young Sun and denser CO2 atmosphere. We include a self-consistent representation of the water cycle, with atmosphere-surface interactions,…
Although deuterium (D) on Mars has received substantial attention, the deuterated ionosphere remains relatively unstudied. This means that we also know very little about non-thermal D escape from Mars, since it is primarily driven by excess…
There may be a chance of small-scale ephemeral liquid water formation on present day Mars, even though the current climate does not support the existence of larger bodies of water. Through a process called deliquescence, hygroscopic salts…
Early Mars climate research has well-defined goals (Mars Exploration Program Analysis Group 2018). Achieving these goals requires geologists and climate modelers to coordinate. Coordination is easier if results are expressed in terms of…
CO2+H2 greenhouse warming has recently emerged as a promising scenario to sufficiently warm the early martian surface to allow the formation of valley networks and lakes. Here we present numerical 3-D global climate simulations of the early…
We use observations from the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM) of the north polar cap during late summer for two Martian years, to monitor the complete summer cycle of albedo and water ice grain size in order to…
The search for ephemeral liquid water on Mars is an ongoing activity. After the recession of the seasonal polar ice cap on Mars, small water ice patches may be left behind in shady places due to the low thermal conductivity of the Martian…
The energetic particle environment on the Martian surface is influenced by solar and heliospheric modulation and changes in the local atmospheric pressure (or column depth). The Radiation Assessment Detector (RAD) on board the Mars Science…
Ancient hydrology is recorded by sedimentary rocks on Mars. The most voluminous sedimentary rocks that formed during Mars' Hesperian period are sulfate-rich rocks, explored by the $Opportunity$ rover from 2004-2012 and soon to be…
Atmospheric refraction affects to various degrees exoplanet transit, lunar eclipse, as well as stellar occultation observations. Exoplanet retrieval algorithms often use analytical expressions for the column abundance along a ray traversing…
Context. Planetary mass and radius data are showing a wide variety in densities of low-mass exoplanets. This includes sub-Neptunes, whose low densities can be explained with the presence of a volatile-rich layer. Water is one of the most…
Our current knowledge of life on Earth indicates a basic requirement for liquid water. The locations of present liquid water are therefore the logical sites to search for current life on Mars. We develop a picture of where on Mars the…