A climate database for Mars

Lewis, S. R.; Collins, Matthew; Read, P. L.; Forget, F.; Hourdin, F.; Fournier, Richard; Hourdin, Christophe; Talagrand, O.; Huot, J. P.

doi:10.1029/1999je001024

Cited by 318 publications

(227 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…Listing the success of global climate models on other planets is out of the scope of this paper, but we could mention a few examples (with a bias towards our models developed at LMD). On Mars, assuming the right amount of dust in the atmosphere it has been relatively easy to simulate the thermal structure of the atmosphere and the behaviour of atmospheric waves, such as thermal tides and baroclinic waves [70][71][72][73][74][75][76], to reproduce the main seasonal characteristics of the water cycle [77,78] or to predict the detailed behaviour of ozone [79,80]. On Titan, GCMs have anticipated the super-rotating wind fields with amplitude and characteristics comparable to observations [81,82] and allowed to simulate and interpret the detached haze layers [83,84], the abundance and vertical profiles of most chemical compounds in the stratosphere and their enrichment in the winter polar region [85], the distribution of clouds [86] or the detailed thermal structure observed by Huygens in the lowest 5 km [87].…”

Section: (B) Modelling Terrestrial Planetary Climate (I) From One-to mentioning

confidence: 99%

Possible climates on terrestrial exoplanets

Forget

Leconte

2014

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A.

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What kind of environment may exist on terrestrial planets around other stars? In spite of the lack of direct observations, it may not be premature to speculate on exoplanetary climates, for instance to optimize future telescopic observations, or to assess the probability of habitable worlds. To first order, climate primarily depends on 1) The atmospheric composition and the volatile inventory; 2) The incident stellar flux; 3) The tidal evolution of the planetary spin, which can notably lock a planet with a permanent night side. The atmospheric composition and mass depends on complex processes which are difficult to model: origins of volatile, atmospheric escape, geochemistry, photochemistry. We discuss physical constraints which can help us to speculate on the possible type of atmosphere, depending on the planet size, its final distance for its star and the star type. Assuming that the atmosphere is known, the possible climates can be explored using Global Climate Models analogous to the ones developed to simulate the Earth as well as the other telluric atmospheres in the solar system. Our experience with Mars, Titan and Venus suggests that realistic climate simulators can be developed by combining components like a "dynamical core", a radiative transfer solver, a parametrisation of subgrid-scale turbulence and convection, a thermal ground model, and a volatile phase change code. On this basis, we can aspire to build reliable climate predictors for exoplanets. However, whatever the accuracy of the models, predicting the actual climate regime on a specific planet will remain challenging because climate systems are affected by strong positive destabilizing feedbacks (such as runaway glaciations and runaway greenhouse effect). They can drive planets with very similar forcing and volatile inventory to completely different states.Comment: In press, Proceedings of the Royal Society A 31 pages, 6 figure

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Section: (B) Modelling Terrestrial Planetary Climate (I) From One-to mentioning

confidence: 99%

Possible climates on terrestrial exoplanets

Forget

Leconte

2014

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A.

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“…The Mars Climate Database (MCD) is a database of meteorological fields derived from General Circulation Model (GCM) numerical simulations [2,4] of the Martian atmosphere and validated using available observational data. The MCD includes complementary post-processing schemes such as high spatial resolution interpolation of environmental data and means of reconstructing the variability thereof.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…

AbstractThe Mars Climate Database (MCD) is a database of meteorological fields derived from General Circulation Model (GCM) numerical simulations [2,4] of the Martian atmosphere and validated using available observational data. The MCD includes complementary post-processing schemes such as high spatial resolution interpolation of environmental data and means of reconstructing the variability thereof.

The GCM is developed at LMD (Laboratoire de Météorologie Dynamique, Paris, France) in collaboration with several teams in Europe: LATMOS (Laboratoire Atmosphères, Milieux, Observations Spatiales, Paris, France), the Open University (UK), the Oxford University (UK) and the Instituto de Astrofisica de Andalucia (Spain) with support from the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES).

The MCD is freely distributed and intended to be useful and used in the framework of engineering applications as well as in the context of scientific studies which require accurate knowledge of the state of the Martian atmosphere.

The Mars Climate Database (MCD) has over the years been distributed to more than 150 teams around the world.

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confidence: 99%

The Mars Climate Database (version 4.3)

Millour

Forget

González‐Galindo

et al. 2009

SAE Technical Paper Series

113

169

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The Mars Climate Database (MCD) is a database of meteorological fields derived from General Circulation Model (GCM) numerical simulations [2,4] of the Martian atmosphere and validated using available observational data. The MCD includes complementary post-processing schemes such as high spatial resolution interpolation of environmental data and means of reconstructing the variability thereof.The GCM is developed at LMD (Laboratoire de Météorologie Dynamique, Paris, France) in collaboration with several teams in Europe: LATMOS (Laboratoire Atmosphères, Milieux, Observations Spatiales, Paris, France), the Open University (UK), the Oxford University (UK) and the Instituto de Astrofisica de Andalucia (Spain) with support from the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES).The MCD is freely distributed and intended to be useful and used in the framework of engineering applications as well as in the context of scientific studies which require accurate knowledge of the state of the Martian atmosphere.The Mars Climate Database (MCD) has over the years been distributed to more than 150 teams around the world. With the many improvements implemented in the GCM over the last few years, a new series of reference simulations have been run and compiled in a new version (version 5) of the Mars Climate Database, released in the first half of 2012. Recent improvements in the LMD GCMFor more than twenty years, our teams have joined forces to develop the most realistic GCM to accurately model the martian atmosphere and climate. It has now matured to the point of being a "Mars System Model" capable of simulating the CO2 cycle, the dust cycle, the water cycle, the release and transport of radon, water isotopes cycle, the martian thermosphere and ionosphere, etc.Ongoing efforts have been made to improve our GCM and key recent improvements over the last few years include:-Updated schemes for the upper atmosphere:an improved computation of thermal cooling rates, a better treatment of radiative transfer in the 15-um bands, an enhanced solar heating rate model and an improved molecular diffusion scheme have been implemented [3].

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“…For the absorption of the infrared radiation from the atmosphere we take into account fraction of the sky visible in a given location in the trench. The total IR radiation emitted by the atmosphere toward surface can be either parametrized, or taken from results of a general circulation model such as GCM LMD/Oxford Lewis et al, 1999), available at http://www-mars.lmd.jussieu.fr/. In the current work we use the latter option.…”

Section: Accepted Manuscriptmentioning

confidence: 99%

Small-scale trench in the north polar region of Mars: Evolution of surface frost and ground ice concentration

Kossacki¹,

Markiewicz²

2009

Icarus

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In this paper we attempt to answer the question, how formation of a small-scale trench in the Martian regolith affects local distribution of the subsurface ice. We are especially interested in the consequences of digging a trench to search for buried ice, as has been done during the Phoenix Mars Lander mission. However, the results may be also applicable for natural troughs, or cracks. We present results of simulations of diurnal exchange of water between the regolith and the atmosphere. Our model includes the heat and vapor migration in the regolith surrounding the trench, as well as formation of diurnal frost. We take into account scattering of light in the atmosphere and on the trench facets, as well as changes of atmospheric humidity on diurnal and seasonal time scales. Our calculations show, that the measurements of ice content in a sample obtained within one, or two days from the beginning of digging should not be affected. However, on somewhat longer time scale at the south facing site of the trench the regolith can be significantly depleted from ice. This effect should be taken into account if the excavation and taking samples from different depths will be performed in stages separated in time by a month, or more.

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A climate database for Mars

Cited by 318 publications

References 36 publications

Possible climates on terrestrial exoplanets

Possible climates on terrestrial exoplanets

The Mars Climate Database (version 4.3)

Small-scale trench in the north polar region of Mars: Evolution of surface frost and ground ice concentration

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