Mars: Measurements of its brightness temperature at 1.85 and 3.75 cm wavelength

Abstract

New measurements of the microwave temperature of Mars are reported. The brightness temperatures measured during the planet's close approach in 1967 were 182" f 15°K (m.e.) at 1.85 cm, and 200' f 11°K (m.e.) at 3.75 cm.

New Insights on the Physical Nature of the Atmospheric Greenhouse Effect Deduced from an Empirical Planetary Temperature Model

“…Appendix B details our computational procedure with the results presented in Table 2. It is noteworthy that our independent estimate of Mars' GMAT (190.56 ± 0.7 K), while significantly lower than values quoted in recent years, is in perfect agreement with spherically integrated brightness temperatures of the Red Planet derived from remote microwave measurements in the late 1960s and early 1970s [85][86][87].…”

“…However, this notion is primarily based on theoretical analyses [106], since there are currently no known geo-chemical proxies permitting a reliable reconstruction of past pressure changes in a manner similar to that provided by various temperature proxies such as isotopic oxygen 18, alkenones and TEX 86 in sediments, and Ar-N isotope ratios and deuterium concentrations in ice. The lack of independent pressure proxies makes the assumption of a constant atmospheric mass throughout the Cenozoic a priori and thus questionable.…”