Related papers: Martian north polar cap summer water cycle
The Mars Atmosphere-Ice Coupler MAIC-2 is a simple, latitudinal model, which consists of a set of parameterisations for the surface temperature, the atmospheric water transport and the surface mass balance (condensation minus evaporation)…
The heating of the real polar cap surface of radio pulsars by the bombardment of ultra-relativistic charges is studied. The real polar cap is a significantly smaller area within or close by the conventional polar cap which is encircled by…
As a large-scale motion on the Sun, the meridional flow plays an important role in determining magnetic structure and strength and solar cycle. However, the meridional flow near the solar poles is still unclear. The Hinode observations show…
First estimations of Gravity Wave Potential Energy (GWPE) for the Martian thermosphere are reported herein using the height profile of CO2 density derived temperature fluctuations for different Martian seasons during the 33rd Martian year.…
On the basis of geological evidence, it is often stated that the early martian climate was warm enough for liquid water to flow on the surface thanks to the greenhouse effect of a thick atmosphere. We present 3D global climate simulations…
Mars' transition from an early "warm and wet" to the "cold and dry" environment left fingerprints on the geological record of fluvial activity on Mars. The morphological and mineralogical observations of aqueous activity provided varying…
Knowing the phase transformations in dense water ice is key to unraveling the peculiar geophysical properties of Uranus and Neptune, whose stratified interior models predict a thick ice layer beneath a convective ionic fluid layer. In the…
This study constrains the lower bound of the scattering phase function of Martian water ice clouds (WICs) through the implementation of a new observation aboard the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL). The Phase Function Sky Survey (PFSS) was a…
An estimate is made of the thickness of the radar-bright deposits in craters near to the north pole of Mercury. To construct an objective set of craters for this measurement, an automated crater finding algorithm is developed and applied to…
Dark deposits visible from orbit appear in the Martian south polar region during the springtime. These are thought to form from explosive jets of carbon dioxide gas breaking through the thawing seasonal ice cap, carrying dust and dirt which…
Two arguments have suggested the presence of subsurface water ice at latitudes lower than 30\textdegree~on Mars. First, the absence of CO2 frost on pole-facing slopes was explained by the presence of subsurface ice. Second, models suggested…
Seasonal cycle of Martian relative humidity shows that, in the southern and the northern RSL sites, humidity decreases when RSL increment while humidity is high on the fading season. We suggest that the recurrence of RSL is caused by the…
The distribution of subsurface water ice on Mars is a key constraint on past climate, while the volumetric concentration of buried ice (pore-filling versus excess) provides information about the process that led to its deposition. We…
We present a mathematical model describing the evolution of sea ice and meltwater during summer. The system is described by two coupled partial differential equations for the ice thickness $h$ and pond depth $w$ fields. We test the…
We present a concept for using a polarization sensitive multispectral lidar to map the seasonal distribution and exchange of volatiles among the reservoirs of the Martian surface and atmosphere. The LIDAR instrument will be a…
Characterizing the Martian atmosphere is an essential objective to understand its meteorology and its climate. The lower atmosphere (< 40 km) and middle atmosphere (40-80 km) of Mars appear dynamically coupled at much higher levels than in…
Polar mesospheric clouds provide clues to physicochemical processes in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere. However, the heterogeneous nucleation and growth processes of water ice under polar mesospheric conditions are poorly understood,…
We use a 3D general circulation model to compare the primitive Martian hydrological cycle in "warm and wet" and "cold and icy" scenarios. In the warm and wet scenario, an anomalously high solar flux or intense greenhouse warming…
We present circular polarization measurements of circumstellar H_2O masers. The circular polarization detected in the (6_{16}-5_{23}) rotational transition of the H_{2}O maser can be attributed to Zeeman splitting in the intermediate…
The decline of Mars' global magnetic field some 3.8-4.1 billion years ago is thought to reflect the demise of the dynamo that operated in its liquid core. The dynamo was probably powered by planetary cooling and so its termination is…