Related papers: Eddy evolution during large dust storms
Planet-encircling dust storms fundamentally reshape Martian weather and the near-surface electrostatic environment. We investigate the generation and evolution of electric fields during global dust storms using bimodal dust size…
Global dust storms are the most thermodynamically significant dust events on Mars. They are produced from the combination of multiple local and regional lifting events and maintained by positive radiative-dynamic feedbacks. The most recent…
We present spatial and temporal distributions of dust on Mars from Ls = 331 in MY26 until Ls = 80 in MY33 retrieved from the measurements taken by the Planetary Fourier Spectrometer (PFS) aboard Mars Express. In agreement with previous…
Previous observations have shown that, during Martian dust storms, the peak of the ionosphere rises in altitude. Observational studies of this type, however, have been extremely limited. Using 13 years of ionospheric peak altitude data from…
The pervasive Mars dust is continually transported between the surface and the atmosphere. When on the surface, dust increases the albedo of darker underlying rocks and regolith, which modifies climate energy balance and must be quantified.…
A Martian semiannual oscillation (SAO), similar to that in the Earth's tropical stratosphere, is evident in the Mars Analysis Correction Data Assimilation reanalysis dataset (MACDA) version 1.0, not only in the tropics, but also extending…
A new physical hypothesis predicts that a weak coupling of the orbital and rotational motions of extended bodies may give rise to a modulation of circulatory flows within their atmospheres. Driven cycles of intensification and relaxation of…
Observations of water ice clouds and aerosols on Mars can provide important insights into the complexity of the water cycle. Recent observations have indicated an important link between dust activity and the water cycle, as intense dust…
The time evolution of atmospheric dust at high southern latitudes on Mars has been determined using observations of the south seasonal cap acquired in the near infrared (1-2.65 {\mu}m) by OMEGA/Mars Express in 2005. Observations at…
We report the ubiquitous occurrence of nighttime temperature inversions in the tropical martian atmosphere during the dusty season, as observed by the Mars Climate Sounder. The inversions are linked to the occurrence of large-scale regional…
We present a new database of $>$300 layer-orientations from sedimentary mounds on Mars. These layer orientations, together with draped landslides, and draping of rocks over differentially-eroded paleo-domes, indicate that for the…
Airborne dust is the main climatic agent in the Martian environment. Local dust storms play a key role in the dust cycle; yet their life cycle is poorly known. Here we use mesoscale modeling that includes the transport of radiatively active…
We analyze Mars Climate Sounder temperature and aerosol data in the tropics to study atmospheric tides and their relation to the dust and water ice distributions. Our results from data covering Mars years (MY) 29-35 reveal that MY29 has…
Solar wind turbulence is a dynamical phenomenon that evolves with heliocentric distance. Orbiting Mars since September 2014, Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) offers a unique opportunity to explore some of its main properties…
We report a previously unnoticed annually repeating phenomenon consisting of the daily formation of an extremely elongated cloud extending as far as 1800 km westward from Arsia Mons. It takes place in the Solar Longitude (Ls) range of…
Ocean mesoscale variability, a key component of the climate system, influences ocean circulation and heat, gas, carbon and nutrient distribution. Trends on Eddy Kinetic Energy (EKE), a metric measuring its intensity, are investigated using…
The Martian atmosphere experiences large diurnal variations due to the ~24.6 h planetary rotation and its low heat capacity. Understanding such variations on a planetary scale is limited due to the lack of observations, which are greatly…
The time variations of spectral properties of dark martian surface features are investigated using the OMEGA near-IR dataset. The analyzed period covers two Mars years, spanning from early 2004 to early 2008 (includes the 2007 global dust…
We have reconstructed longitude-latitude maps of column dust optical depth (CDOD) for Martian year (MY) 34 (May 5, 2017 --- March 23, 2019) using observations by the Mars Climate Sounder (MCS) aboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter…
Dust aerosol plays a fundamental role in the behavior and evolution of the Martian atmosphere. The first five Mars years of Mars Exploration Rover data provide an unprecedented record of the dust load at two sites. This record is useful for…