Mars Dust Storm Effects in the Ionosphere and Magnetosphere and Implications for Atmospheric Carbon Loss

Fang, Xiaohua; Ma, Yingjuan; Lee, Yuni; Bougher, S. W.; Liu, Guiping; Benna, M.; Mahaffy, P. R.; Montabone, L.; Pawlowski, D. J.; Dong, Chuanfei; Dong, Y.; Jakosky, B. M.

doi:10.1029/2019ja026838

Cited by 27 publications

(61 citation statements)

References 65 publications

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“…We find that the peak densities, once corrected for the SZA, solar radiation output and seasonal variations, are larger over the crustal field regions, confirming previous results obtained with much smaller datasets (Nielsen et al, 2007) 6. The global dust storm in MY28 raised the altitude of the ionospheric peak by about 10-15 km, in agreement with a previous independent analysis of the MARSIS AIS data set (Girazian et al, 2020), with studies of the ionosphere during the MY34 dust storm (Felici et al, 2020), and with modeling results (Fang et al, 2020) Data Availability Statement MARSIS and MaRS data are available in the ESA PSA archive (ftp://psa.esac.esa.int/pub/mirror/MARS-EX-PRESS/MARSIS/ and ftp://psa.esac.esa.int/pub/mirror/MARS-EXPRESS/MRS/). All the data used in this study, including also derived magnitudes, have been made publicly available at Zenodo (https://doi.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

Seasonal and Geographical Variability of the Martian Ionosphere From Mars Express Observations

et al. 2021

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The ionosphere of Mars is originated by the ionization of the neutral atmosphere by solar radiation or energetic particles. It is thus strongly coupled to both the neutral atmosphere and to the amount of solar radiation arriving at the planet. The study of the ionosphere can provide valuable information about the underlying neutral atmosphere (e.g., Bougher et al., 2004). The ionosphere is also an important source of escaping particles (e.g., Brain et al., 2017). Understanding the factors inducing ionospheric variability is necessary to characterize the variability of the current escape rate, and to infer the escape rate in the past. It is thus to no surprise that the ionosphere of Mars has been a subject of study since the first missions to Mars (Kliore et al., 1965). The Martian dayside ionosphere is characterized by the presence of a well-defined maximum in the electron density profile, the main ionospheric peak, placed at an altitude of about 130 km from the surface Abstract We study the seasonal and geographical variability of the peak electron density and the altitude of the main ionospheric peak at Mars. For this purpose, we use the data obtained by the ESA Mars Express mission, namely by the radar MARSIS and the radio occultation experiment MaRS. The accumulation of data during the long lifetime of Mars Express provides for the first time an almost complete seasonal and geographical coverage. We first remove the dominant variability factors affecting the main ionospheric peak, namely the effect of changes in the solar zenith angle (SZA), and the changes in the solar ultraviolet radiation output at the Sun. When averaging results obtained at all latitudes, we find that the seasonal variation of both the peak density and the peak altitude can be well reproduced by sinusoidal functions with amplitudes about 8%-9% of the annually averaged peak density, and between 8 and 9.5 km for the peak altitude. We also find elevated peak electron densities in the region of strong crustal fields and latitudinal asymmetries in both the peak density and altitude. Comparing the seasonal evolution of the peak altitude during Mars Year 28, a year with a global dust storm, and the rest of the years, we find that the global dust storm raised the altitude of the ionospheric peak by about 10-15 km.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

Seasonal and Geographical Variability of the Martian Ionosphere From Mars Express Observations

et al. 2021

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“…In this figure, it is clear that the duskside densities are greater than those at the dawn for all seasons, except between L s = 140° and L s = 240° in MY 34. In this case, the dawn densities are greater than those at dusk, potentially because the dawn densities occur between L s = 185° and L s = 225°, where a major global dust storm occurred (e.g., Fang et al, ). It is known that thermospheric densities are enhanced during lower atmospheric dust storms (Liu et al, ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dawn‐Dusk Asymmetries in the Martian Upper Atmosphere

2019

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In this paper, we report the first comprehensive observations of local time asymmetries in densities and scale heights (temperatures) of the Martian upper atmosphere (between 150 and 300 km) measured by the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution mission/Neutral Gas and Ion Mass Spectrometer. For this purpose, we use the densities and temperatures of Ar. In general, the daytime densities and temperatures are greater than the nighttime values. The maximum and minimum values, however, are observed at the dusk and dawn terminators, respectively. An enhancement at the dusk terminator is persistently observed at all altitudes; however, the time of the peak enhancement shifts toward sunlit hours with increasing altitude. At the dawn terminator, a minimum in density is observed at altitudes of 150–170 km. At higher altitudes, the minimum is observed close to midnight. Accordingly, the dawn‐dusk asymmetry is more prominent at 150–170 km and decreases with increasing altitude. A maximum ratio of six is observed between the dusk and dawn densities at 160 km. In addition, the local time for the maximum ratio at each altitude moves toward sunlit hours with increasing altitude. The observed asymmetry is explained in terms of dynamical heating and cooling due to convergent and divergent winds at the dusk and dawn terminators, respectively. In addition, upward propagating gravity waves generated by the solar terminator wave and O/CO2 radiative cooling are also proposed as important mechanisms contributing to the observed asymmetry.

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“…Despite the existing efforts, the response of the Martian ionosphere during a GDS in terms of the ion composition and structure has only been explored from a theoretical point of view. The multi-fluid magnetohydrodynamic calculations of Fang et al (2020) modeled the response of the Martian space environment, including both the ionosphere and magnetosphere, to the 2017 regional dust storm as well as the 1971-1972 GDS. They predicted similar upwellings of the individual…”

Section: Niu Et Almentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These authors also predicted that the GDS was able to dramatically enhance the  2 CO loss rate by a factor of ∼ 3. The modeling results of Fang et al (2020) need to be examined by follow-up observational studies, which has recently become possible owing to the accumulation of a large data set of ion composition and density over the past several years by the MAVEN NGIMS instrument.…”

Section: Niu Et Almentioning

confidence: 99%

Species‐dependent Response of the Martian Ionosphere to the 2018 Global Dust Event

Niu

Cui

et al. 2021

JGR Planets

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Dust storms are an outstanding phenomenon of the Martian climate, especially during spring and summer over the southern hemisphere (e.g., Zurek, 1982). When a dust storm occurs, a significant amount of dust particles are lifted upward into the atmosphere by wind-related processes. Given that dust is the major absorber of solar radiation in the atmosphere, the lifted dust particles can cause the lower atmosphere to expand and modify the global circulation patterns (e.g., Bougher et al., 1997; Heavens et al., 2011). Changes

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Mars Dust Storm Effects in the Ionosphere and Magnetosphere and Implications for Atmospheric Carbon Loss

Cited by 27 publications

References 65 publications

Seasonal and Geographical Variability of the Martian Ionosphere From Mars Express Observations

Seasonal and Geographical Variability of the Martian Ionosphere From Mars Express Observations

Dawn‐Dusk Asymmetries in the Martian Upper Atmosphere

Species‐dependent Response of the Martian Ionosphere to the 2018 Global Dust Event

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