Large particles containing nitric acid (HNO3) were observed in the 1999/2000 Arctic winter stratosphere. These in situ observations were made over a large altitude range (16 to 21 kilometers) and horizontal extent (1800 kilometers) on several airborne sampling flights during a period of several weeks. With diameters of 10 to 20 micrometers, these sedimenting particles have significant potential to denitrify the lower stratosphere. A microphysical model of nitric acid trihydrate particles is able to simulate the growth and sedimentation of these large sizes in the lower stratosphere, but the nucleation process is not yet known. Accurate modeling of the formation of these large particles is essential for understanding Arctic denitrification and predicting future Arctic ozone abundances.

We have produced a multiannual climatology of airborne dust from Martian year 24 to 31 using multiple datasets of retrieved or estimated column optical depths. The datasets are based on observations of the Martian atmosphere from April 1999 to July 2013 made by different orbiting instruments: the Thermal Emission Spectrometer (TES) aboard Mars Global Surveyor, the Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) aboard Mars Odyssey, and the Mars Climate Sounder (MCS) aboard Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO). The procedure we have adopted consists of gridding the available retrievals of column dust optical depth (CDOD) from TES and THEMIS nadir observations, as well as the estimates of this quantity from MCS limb observations. Our gridding method calculates averages on a regularly spaced, but possibly incomplete, spatio-temporal grid, using an iterative procedure weighted in space, time, and retrieval uncertainty. In order to evaluate strengths and weaknesses of the resulting gridded maps, we associate values of weighted standard deviation with every grid point average, and compare with independent observations of CDOD by PanCam cameras and Mini-TES spectrometers aboard the Mars Exploration Rovers ("Spirit" and "Opportunity"), as well as the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars aboard MRO. We have statistically analyzed the irregularly gridded maps to provide an overview of the dust climatology on Mars over eight years, specifically in relation to its interseasonal and interannual variability. Finally, we have produced multiannual, regular daily maps of CDOD by spatially interpolating the irregularly gridded maps using a kriging method. These synoptic maps are used as dust scenarios in the Mars Climate Database version 5, and are useful in many modelling applications in addition to forming a basis for instrument intercomparisons. The derived dust maps for the eight available Martian years (currently version 1.5) are publicly available and distributed with open access.

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 spacecraft. Our methodology works by gridding standard and newly available estimates of CDOD from MCS limb observations, using the "iterative weighted binning" methodology. In this work, we reconstruct four gridded CDOD maps per sol, at different Mars Universal Times. Together with the seasonal and day-to-day variability, the use of several maps per sol allows to explore also the daily variability of CDOD in the MCS dataset, which is shown to be particularly strong during the MY 34 equinoctial Global Dust Event (GDE). Regular maps of CDOD are then produced by daily averaging and spatially interpolating the irregularly gridded maps using a standard "kriging" interpolator, and can be used as "dust scenario" for numerical model simulations. In order to understand whether the daily variability of CDOD has a physical explanation, we have carried out numerical simulations with the "Laboratoire de Météorologie Dynamique" Mars Global Climate Model. Using a "free dust" run initiated at L s ∼ 210 • with the corresponding kriged map, but subsequently free of further CDOD forcing, we show that the model is able to account for some of the observed daily variability in CDOD. The model serves also to confirm that the use of the MY 34 daily-averaged dust scenario in a GCM produces results consistent with those obtained for the MY 25 GDE. Plain Language SummaryLarge dust storms on Mars have dramatic impacts on the entire atmosphere, but may also have critical consequences for robotic and future human missions. Therefore, there is compelling need to produce an accurate reconstruction of their spatial and temporal evolution for a variety of applications, including to guide Mars climate model simulations. The recently ended Martian year 34 (May 5, 2017 -March 23, 2019) represents a very interesting case because an extreme dust event occurred near the time of the northern autumn equinox, consisting of multiple large dust storms engulfing all longitudes and most latitudes with dust for more than 150 Martian days ("sols"). We have used satellite observations from the Mars Climate Sounder instrument aboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter to reconstruct longitude-latitude maps of the opacity of the atmospheric column due to the presence of dust at several times in each sol of Martian year 34. These maps allow us to analyze the seasonal, day-do-day, and day-night variability of dust in the atmospheric column, which is particularly intense during the extreme dust event. We have also used simulations with a Mars climate model to show that the strong day-night variability may be partly explained by the large-scale circulation.

[1] The Mars Climate Sounder (MCS) onboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter is the latest of a series of investigations devoted to improving the understanding of current Martian climate. MCS is a nine-channel passive midinfrared and far-infrared filter radiometer designed to measure thermal emission in limb and on-planet geometries from which vertical profiles of atmospheric temperature, water vapor, dust, and condensates can be retrieved. Here we describe the algorithm that is used to retrieve atmospheric profiles from MCS limb measurements for delivery to the Planetary Data System. The algorithm is based on a modified Chahine method and uses a fast radiative transfer scheme based on the Curtis-Godson approximation. It retrieves pressure and vertical profiles of atmospheric temperature, dust opacity, and water ice opacity. Water vapor retrievals involve a different approach and will be reported separately. Pressure can be retrieved to a precision of 1-2% and is used to establish the vertical coordinate. Temperature profiles are retrieved over a range from 5-10 to 80-90 km altitude with a typical altitude resolution of 4-6 km and a precision between 0.5 and 2 K over most of this altitude range. Dust and water ice opacity profiles also achieve vertical resolutions of about 5 km and typically have precisions of 10 À4 -10 À5 km À1 at 463 cm À1 and 843 cm À1 , respectively. Examples of temperature profiles as well as dust and water ice opacity profiles from the first year of the MCS mission are presented, and atmospheric features observed during periods employing different MCS operational modes are described. An intercomparison with historical temperature measurements from the Mars Global Surveyor mission shows good agreement. Citation: Kleinböhl, A., et al. (2009), Mars Climate Sounder limb profile retrieval of atmospheric temperature, pressure, and dust and water ice opacity,

[1] Nitric acid-containing particles with diameters of 10-20 mm were detected inside the Arctic polar vortex in the period January to March 2000. We present the results of a unique three-dimensional microphysical simulation of these large HNO 3 -containing particles covering the entire Arctic vortex. The model describes the simultaneous growth, evaporation, sedimentation, and advection of several thousand individual nitric acid hydrate particles over their complete lifetime. We compare modeled and observed particle size distributions as a test of different particle nucleation mechanisms. The model is able to produce particles with sizes typical of those observed and broadly reproduces the change in particle characteristics through the winter assuming nitric acid trihydrate (NAT) particle growth. The possibility that the observed large nitric acid-containing particles were composed of nitric acid dihydrate (NAD) cannot be excluded within the uncertainty of the HNO 3 field above the aircraft. The formation of nitric acid hydrate particles on synoptic ice clouds may be a source of some of the observed large nitric acid-containing particles. However, a direct, but highly selective, nucleation of NAT or NAD particles over wide regions appears to be necessary to explain the observations.

[1] The vertical distribution of dust in Mars's atmosphere is a critical and poorly known input in atmospheric physical and chemical models and a source of insight into the lifting and transport of dust and general vertical mixing in the atmosphere. We investigate vertical profiles of dust opacity To represent local maxima in inferred mass mixing ratio in these profiles, we develop an empirical alternative to the classic "Conrath profile" for representing the vertical distribution of dust in the Martian atmosphere. We then assess the magnitude and variability of atmospheric dust loading, the depth of dust penetration during these seasons, and the impact of the observed vertical dust distribution on the radiative forcing of the circulation. During most of northern spring and summer, the dust mass mixing ratio in the tropics has a maximum at 15-25 km above the local surface (the high-altitude tropical dust maximum (HATDM)). The HATDM appears to have increased significantly in magnitude and altitude during middle to late northern summer of MY 29. The HATDM gradually decayed during late summer of MY 28. Interannual variability in the dust distribution during middle to late northern summer may be connected with known interannual variability in tropical dust storm activity.

No abstract

[1] The first Martian year and a half of observations by the Mars Climate Sounder aboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has revealed new details of the thermal structure and distributions of dust and water ice in the atmosphere. The Martian atmosphere is shown in the observations by the Mars Climate Sounder to vary seasonally between two modes: a symmetrical equinoctial structure with middle atmosphere polar warming and a solstitial structure with an intense middle atmosphere polar warming overlying a deep winter polar vortex. The dust distribution, in particular, is more complex than appreciated before the advent of these high (∼5 km) vertical resolution observations, which extend from near the surface to above 80 km and yield 13 dayside and 13 nightside pole-to-pole cross sections each day. Among the new features noted is a persistent maximum in dust mass mixing ratio at 15-25 km above the surface (at least on the nightside) during northern spring and summer. The water ice distribution is very sensitive to the diurnal and seasonal variation of temperature and is a good tracer of the vertically propagating tide.