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withers

HR: 0800h
AN: P21A-1646 Poster
TI: Effects of dust storms on the upper atmosphere of Mars
AU: *Pratt, R
EM: rdpratt@bu.edu
AF: Center for Space Physics, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
AU: Withers, P
EM: withers@bu.edu
AF: Center for Space Physics, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
AB: Dust storms are well known to strongly perturb the state of the lower atmosphere of Mars, yet few studies have investigated their impact on the upper atmosphere. Mars Global Surveyor aerobraking accelerometer density measurements revealed that regional dust storms can cause significant changes in atmospheric density as high as 130-160 km, even thousands of kilometers away from the location of the dust storm itself. Mars Express SPICAM UV spectrometer measurements during stellar occultations have also shown that atmospheric density increases during a dust storm in the middle atmosphere, 70-130 km. Here we report the results of an investigation into the effects of dust storms on the upper atmosphere using observations from aerobraking orbiters and SPICAM. We investigate how the fractional increase in atmospheric density during a dust storm depends on altitude and on distance from dust storm center. We also quantify the timescales over which densities increase at dust storm onset and decay afterwards. These results will be useful for characterizing coupling between atmospheric regions during the extreme conditions presented by a raging dust storm and can be contrasted with the coupling present during quiescent conditions. They will also be useful for planning operations of deep-dipping orbiters, such as MAVEN.
DE: [5405] PLANETARY SCIENCES: SOLID SURFACE PLANETS / Atmospheres
DE: [6225] PLANETARY SCIENCES: SOLAR SYSTEM OBJECTS / Mars
SC: Planetary Sciences (P)
MN: 2011 Fall Meeting