Influence of gravity waves on the Martian atmosphere: General circulation modeling

Medvedev, Alexander S.; Yiğit, Erdal; Hartogh, P.; Becker, Erich

doi:10.1029/2011je003848

Cited by 101 publications

(171 citation statements)

References 52 publications

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“…The general altitude of the generators of the IAGWs needs to be fixed to evaluate the magnitude of the waves and the physics. The MGCM simulation to draw deep insight to the physical mechanisms of the gravity waves and their effects on the Martian thermosphere can be seen from previous studies (e.g.,Medvedev & Yiğit, ; Medvedev et al, ; Yiğit et al, ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Seasonal Variations and Global Wave Distributions in the Mars Thermosphere From MAVEN and Multisatellites Accelerometer‐Derived Mass Densities

Liu

Jin

2019

JGR Space Physics

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Martian lower thermospheric variations are complex due to internal surface dust storms and external solar activities. However, limited Martian measurement data are restricted to observe and understand its variations in the past. In this paper, multisatellite accelerometer-derived densities and the Mars Climate Database are used to investigate seasonal variations, gravity waves, and coupling effects with the internal and external inputs, including Mars Global Surveyor, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, Mars Odyssey, and Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN Mission. The diurnal and seasonal structures are reconstructed by the data, and the phase of the cycles is formed by solar heating/ionizing processes. Both amplitude and phase are impacted by surface dust activities during autumn and winter, for which density increases about 1.5-3.5 times compared to spring and summer seasons. A parameterized model that includes a newly introduced dust index is proposed to well fit and reinterpret the seasonal cycles. Furthermore, the coupling process between internal atmospheric gravity waves (IAGWs) and dust activities are investigated and explained. During dust storm times/seasons, the IAGWs exhibit both narrower amplitude peaks and deposit their energy at higher altitudes relative to "clear sky" times. The IAGWs could extend their energies into higher layers beyond exobase due to a thermospheric layer expansion (i.e., density increase) during dust seasons. Plain Language Summary The new spacecraft Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioNMission aims to observe Mars lower thermosphere from 100 to 200 km, namely, the lower thermosphere. The daily and yearly variations of the Mars thermospheric density are illustrated for the first time with this data. An improved fitting function is proposed for the yearly density variations. We found that the yearly variations are explained by seasonal solar illumination changes experienced by Mars during its orbit, which can be fit by a superposition of sine and cosine functions. The amplitude of the variations is impacted by surface dust storms during dust seasons (Mars northern autumn and winter). The behaviors of the vertically propagating internal atmospheric gravity waves (IAGWs) are investigated in different seasons. The interaction between these IAGWs and lower atmosphere dust storms is analogous to ocean waves hitting a beach, where the changes in the lower atmosphere dust function like the changing ocean depth close to shore that allow the ocean waves (i.e., IAGWs) to propagate more energy onto the shore (into the upper atmosphere).

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Seasonal Variations and Global Wave Distributions in the Mars Thermosphere From MAVEN and Multisatellites Accelerometer‐Derived Mass Densities

Liu

Jin

2019

JGR Space Physics

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“…This implies that nonsolar forcing is also important and may modulate or overwhelm the periodic solar forcing under certain conditions [e.g., Stewart , ]. This nonsolar forcing may be attributed to the impacts of upward propagating nonmigrating tides and gravity waves [ Stewart et al , ; Bell et al , ; Bougher et al , ; González‐Galindo et al , ; Medvedev et al , ; Medvedev and Yiğit , ; Stiepen et al , ]. Hence, the M‐GITM solar cycle variations presented in this paper should be used as baseline estimates.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mars Global Ionosphere‐Thermosphere Model: Solar cycle, seasonal, and diurnal variations of the Mars upper atmosphere

et al. 2015

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A new Mars Global Ionosphere-Thermosphere Model (M-GITM) is presented that combines the terrestrial GITM framework with Mars fundamental physical parameters, ion-neutral chemistry, and key radiative processes in order to capture the basic observed features of the thermal, compositional, and dynamical structure of the Mars atmosphere from the ground to the exosphere (0-250 km). Lower, middle, and upper atmosphere processes are included, based in part upon formulations used in previous lower and upper atmosphere Mars GCMs. This enables the M-GITM code to be run for various seasonal, solar cycle, and dust conditions. M-GITM validation studies have focused upon simulations for a range of solar and seasonal conditions. Key upper atmosphere measurements are selected for comparison to corresponding M-GITM neutral temperatures and neutral-ion densities. In addition, simulated lower atmosphere temperatures are compared with observations in order to provide a first-order confirmation of a realistic lower atmosphere. M-GITM captures solar cycle and seasonal trends in the upper atmosphere that are consistent with observations, yielding significant periodic changes in the temperature structure, the species density distributions, and the large-scale global wind system. For instance, mid afternoon temperatures near ∼200 km are predicted to vary from ∼210 to 350 K (equinox) and ∼190 to 390 k (aphelion to perihelion) over the solar cycle. These simulations will serve as a benchmark against which to compare episodic variations (e.g., due to solar flares and dust storms) in future M-GITM studies. Additionally, M-GITM will be used to support MAVEN mission activities (2014)(2015)(2016).

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“…The simulations with the Max Planck Institute Martian general circulation model (MPI-MGCM) showed that the GWs effects are significant above~100 km [Medvedev et al, 2011]. In addition, based on the simulations [Medvedev et al, 2011[Medvedev et al, , 2013 most of the cooling takes place at high latitudes and cannot be validated due to the insufficient coverage of the previous observations. All these facts imply that the neutral densities derived from the MGS/RS measurements be closer to the real neutral densities at 130 km in northern high latitudes (60°-90°N) than the simulation of the LMD MGCM(v4.3) model.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…GWs generate by meteorological processes in the lower atmosphere, propagate upward, become unstable, and break and/or dissipate at higher altitudes, which transport momentum and energy and lead to a downward heat flux [Yiğit and Medvedev, 2015, and references therein]. The simulations with the Max Planck Institute Martian general circulation model (MPI-MGCM) showed that the GWs effects are significant above~100 km [Medvedev et al, 2011]. The simulations with the Max Planck Institute Martian general circulation model (MPI-MGCM) showed that the GWs effects are significant above~100 km [Medvedev et al, 2011].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A method to estimate the neutral atmospheric density near the ionospheric main peak of Mars

Zou

Wang

et al. 2016

JGR Space Physics

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A method to estimate the neutral atmospheric density near the ionospheric main peak of Mars is introduced in this study. The neutral densities at 130 km can be derived from the ionospheric and atmospheric measurements of the Radio Science experiment on board Mars Global Surveyor (MGS). The derived neutral densities cover a large longitude range in northern high latitudes from summer to late autumn during 3 Martian years, which fills the gap of the previous observations for the upper atmosphere of Mars. The simulations of the Laboratoire de Météorologie Dynamique Mars global circulation model can be corrected with a simple linear equation to fit the neutral densities derived from the first MGS/RS (Radio Science) data sets (EDS1). The corrected simulations with the same correction parameters as for EDS1 match the derived neutral densities from two other MGS/RS data sets (EDS2 and EDS3) very well. The derived neutral density from EDS3 shows a dust storm effect, which is in accord with the Mars Express (MEX) Spectroscopy for Investigation of Characteristics of the Atmosphere of Mars measurement. The neutral density derived from the MGS/RS measurements can be used to validate the Martian atmospheric models. The method presented in this study can be applied to other radio occultation measurements, such as the result of the Radio Science experiment on board MEX.

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Influence of gravity waves on the Martian atmosphere: General circulation modeling

Cited by 101 publications

References 52 publications

Seasonal Variations and Global Wave Distributions in the Mars Thermosphere From MAVEN and Multisatellites Accelerometer‐Derived Mass Densities

Seasonal Variations and Global Wave Distributions in the Mars Thermosphere From MAVEN and Multisatellites Accelerometer‐Derived Mass Densities

Mars Global Ionosphere‐Thermosphere Model: Solar cycle, seasonal, and diurnal variations of the Mars upper atmosphere

A method to estimate the neutral atmospheric density near the ionospheric main peak of Mars

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