Presentation Abstract

Title An Observational Study Of The Response Of The Thermosphere Of Mars To Lower Atmospheric Dust Storms
Author Block Paul Withers1, R. Pratt1
1Boston University.
Abstract The effects of dust storms on densities, temperatures, and winds in the lower atmosphere of Mars are substantial. Here we use thermospheric observations to investigate how dust storms affect the upper atmosphere of Mars. These effects illuminate the vertical extent of atmospheric circulation patterns and associated diabatic heating during extreme dust loading, timescales for the onset and decay of the thermospheric response, and highlight potential dangers to spacecraft operations. We examined in situ measurements of thermospheric density (120-160 km) from aerobraking accelerometer instruments on Mars Global Surveyor, Mars Odyssey, and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter; remote measurements of thermospheric density and pressure (60-120 km) obtained from stellar occultation observations by the SPICAM ultraviolet spectrometer on Mars Express; and ionospheric peak altitudes (~140 km) measured by radio occultation instruments on Mariner 9 and Mars Global Surveyor. Ionospheric peak altitudes are a useful diagnostic as they indicate the height of a particular thermospheric pressure level. We find that: (1) Thermospheric conditions can be perturbed by dust storms outside the classical "dust storm season" of Ls=180 deg-360 deg. (2) The thermospheric regions affected by even a small dust event can include nearly all latitudes. (3) Atmospheric temperatures can be affected by dust storms at altitudes as high as 100 km. (4) The onset of the thermospheric response to a distant dust event can be a few days or less. (5) The characteristic timescale for the decay of the thermospheric response to a dust event can be tens to one hundred days, and it may differ from the corresponding timescale for the lower atmosphere. (6) Average thermospheric densities can change by factors of a few during mere regional dust storms and an order of magnitude change is possible for the largest storms.


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    • 44th DPS Program published in BAAS volume 44 #5.