The middle Martian atmosphere

Thesis/Dissertation · Sun Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1989

OSTI ID:6591360

Jaquin, R F

Profiles of scattered light above the planetary limb from 116 Viking Orbiter images are used to constrain the temporal and spatial behavior of aerosols suspended in the Martian atmosphere. The data cover a wide range of seasons, locations, and viewing geometry, providing information about the aerosol optical properties and vertical distribution. The typical atmospheric column contains one or more discrete, optically thin, ice-like haze layers between 30 and 90 km elevation whose composition is inferred to be water ice. Below the detached hazes, a continuous haze, interpreted to have a large dust component, extends from as much as 50 km to the surface. The haze distribution exhibits an annual variation that reflects a seasonally driven circulation in the middle atmosphere. The potential role of stationary gravity waves in modifying the middle atmosphere circulation is explored using a linear theory applied to a realistic Martian environment. Martian topography derived from radar observations is decomposed into Fourier harmonics and used to linearly superpose gravity waves arising from each component. The larger amplitude topography on Mars combined with the absence of extended regions of smooth topography like oceans generates larger wave amplitudes than on the Earth. The circulation of the middle atmosphere is examined using a two-dimensional, linearized, axisymmetric model successfully employed in the study of the terrestrial mesosphere. Illustrations of temperature and wind speeds are presented for the southern summer solstice and southern spring equinox.

• Research Organization: Cornell Univ., Ithaca, NY (USA)
• OSTI ID: 6591360
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

640107* -- Astrophysics & Cosmology-- Planetary Phenomena
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
AEROSOLS
ATMOSPHERES
ATMOSPHERIC CIRCULATION
COLLOIDS
DISPERSIONS
DISTRIBUTION
GRAVITY WAVES
ICE
MARS PLANET
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
OPTICAL PROPERTIES
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
PLANETARY ATMOSPHERES
PLANETS
SCATTERING
SEASONS
SOLS
SPACE VEHICLES
SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION
TOPOGRAPHY
VEHICLES
VIKING SPACE PROBES
WIND