OpenMARS: A global record of martian weather from 1999 to 2015

Holmes, James; Lewis, S. R.; Patel, Manish R.

doi:10.1016/j.pss.2020.104962

Cited by 50 publications

(57 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…In addition, a distinct‐low latitude, mid‐altitude peak in O 3 arises from ∼20 K colder atmospheric (and surface) temperatures present around Mars aphelion (Clancy & Nair, 1996), when Mars is furthest from the Sun in its eccentric orbit (at the current epoch, this occurs around Mars northern summer at a solar longitude, L S , of 71°). These basic temporal and spatial behaviors of Mars atmospheric O 3 and H 2 O column abundances are qualitatively reproduced in Mars global circulation models (GCM; e.g., Daerden et al., 2019; Holmes et al., 2017, 2020, 2018; Lefèvre et al., 2008, 2004).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 77%

ExoMars TGO/NOMAD‐UVIS Vertical Profiles of Ozone: 1. Seasonal Variation and Comparison to Water

et al. 2021

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We present ∼1.5 Mars Years (MY) of ozone vertical profiles, covering L S = 163° in MY34 to L S = 320° in MY35, a period which includes the 2018 global dust storm. Since April 2018, the Ultraviolet and Visible Spectrometer channel of the Nadir and Occultation for Mars Discovery (NOMAD) instrument aboard the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter has observed the vertical, latitudinal and seasonal distributions of ozone. Around perihelion, the relative abundance of both ozone and water (from coincident NOMAD measurements) increases with decreasing altitude below ∼40 km. Around aphelion, localized decreases in ozone abundance exist between 25 and 35 km coincident with the location of modeled peak water abundances. High-latitude (>±55°), high altitude (40-55 km) equinoctial ozone enhancements are observed in both hemispheres (L S ∼350°-40°) and discussed in the companion article to this work (Khayat et al., 2021). The descending branch of the main Hadley cell shapes the observed ozone distribution at L S = 40°-60°, with the possible signature of a northern hemisphere thermally indirect cell identifiable from L S = 40°-80°. Morning terminator observations show elevated ozone abundances with respect to evening observations, with average ozone abundances between 20 and 40 km an order of magnitude higher at sunrise compared to sunset, attributed to diurnal photochemical partitioning along the line of sight between ozone and O or fluctuations in water abundance. The ozone retrievals presented here provide the most complete global description of Mars ozone vertical distributions to date as a function of season and latitude. Plain Language SummaryWe present over two years of new observations of the vertical distribution of ozone in the atmosphere of Mars. The ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter spacecraft has been recording observations of the Martian atmosphere since 2018 to map the presence and changes in abundance of gases such as ozone by using the "Nadir and Occultation for Mars Discovery (NOMAD)" instrument. NOMAD continually observes the change in ozone abundance (among other gases) at different heights across much of the planet. These abundance profiles have revealed the presence of distinct layers of ozone enhancement at high altitudes in the atmosphere of Mars toward the polar regions and between spring and autumn in the southern hemisphere of Mars, discussed in detail in the companion article. We observe broad periods where often the abundance of ozone follows the abundance of water from ∼10 km altitude up to ∼50 km altitude, and other times when the two appear to be opposite in their variation with height. Our retrievals of ozone from NOMAD data provide the first coincident observations of ozone and water and provide previously unavailable information on the photochemistry of Mars.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 77%

ExoMars TGO/NOMAD‐UVIS Vertical Profiles of Ozone: 1. Seasonal Variation and Comparison to Water

et al. 2021

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“…During MY33 the data assimilated into the GCM were thermal profiles and total column dust opacities as derived from retrievals (Kleinböhl et al., 2009) of limb soundings by the Mars Climate Sounder (MCS) instrument, aboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft (McCleese et al., 2007). To account for more extreme dust events we also selected MY 25, which includes a major global dust storm just after northern hemisphere autumn equinox, and MY26, which does not and is more similar to MY33 except for a smaller dust event in late northern winter, from the earlier part of the OpenMARS database period (Holmes et al., 2020). The data assimilated during MY25 and 26 were retrievals of nadir‐sensed temperature profiles (Smith et al., 2000) and total column dust opacity (Smith, 2004) from the Thermal Emission Spectrometer instrument aboard the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Data assimilation was conducted with an analysis correction scheme (Lorenc et al, 1991), developed for application to Mars as in Lewis et al (2007). The GCM and assimilation procedure were the same as used to create the OpenMARS reanalysis database (Holmes et al, 2020), except that the GCM was run with increased vertical resolution (70 layers covering the altitude range 0-100 km) and data were stored at hourly intervals over 669 Mars days (sols) covering each full Mars year (668.6 sols). The GCM was run with a triangular horizontal truncation at a total wavenumber 32, with nonlinear products calculated on a 3.75° × 3.75° grid and the hourly records made on a 5° × 5° grid for later interpolation to the output site.…”

Section: Mars Global Circulation Model Outputsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Additionally, change detection between consecutive Context Camera (CTX; Malin et al., 2007) images was used to analyze any alteration in dust devil tracks and/or windstreaks on the surface to gain a better understanding of present‐day wind conditions. In the absence of in situ near surface wind speed and direction data, we used Global Circulation Model (GCM) near surface winds derived from several contemporary re‐analyses of spacecraft thermal and dust opacity data (Holmes et al., 2020) to obtain the best possible understanding of the current wind regime at Oxia Planum.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Aeolian Environment of the Landing Site for the ExoMars Rosalind Franklin Rover in Oxia Planum, Mars

et al. 2021

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“…Data were taken from GCM assimilations of previous Mars years, as archived in the OU’s OpenMARS database (Holmes et al. 2019 , 2020 ). Data assimilation is conducted for column dust opacities and thermal profiles (Lewis et al.…”

Section: Atmospheric Models and Setups Used In This Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

Multi-model Meteorological and Aeolian Predictions for Mars 2020 and the Jezero Crater Region

et al. 2021

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Nine simulations are used to predict the meteorology and aeolian activity of the Mars 2020 landing site region. Predicted seasonal variations of pressure and surface and atmospheric temperature generally agree. Minimum and maximum pressure is predicted at $\text{Ls}\sim 145^{\circ}$ Ls ∼ 145 ∘ and $250^{\circ}$ 250 ∘ , respectively. Maximum and minimum surface and atmospheric temperature are predicted at $\text{Ls}\sim 180^{\circ}$ Ls ∼ 180 ∘ and $270^{\circ}$ 270 ∘ , respectively; i.e., are warmest at northern fall equinox not summer solstice. Daily pressure cycles vary more between simulations, possibly due to differences in atmospheric dust distributions. Jezero crater sits inside and close to the NW rim of the huge Isidis basin, whose daytime upslope (∼east-southeasterly) and nighttime downslope (∼northwesterly) winds are predicted to dominate except around summer solstice, when the global circulation produces more southerly wind directions. Wind predictions vary hugely, with annual maximum speeds varying from 11 to $19~\text{ms}^{-1}$ 19 ms − 1 and daily mean wind speeds peaking in the first half of summer for most simulations but in the second half of the year for two. Most simulations predict net annual sand transport toward the WNW, which is generally consistent with aeolian observations, and peak sand fluxes in the first half of summer, with the weakest fluxes around winter solstice due to opposition between the global circulation and daytime upslope winds. However, one simulation predicts transport toward the NW, while another predicts fluxes peaking later and transport toward the WSW. Vortex activity is predicted to peak in summer and dip around winter solstice, and to be greater than at InSight and much greater than in Gale crater.

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OpenMARS: A global record of martian weather from 1999 to 2015

Cited by 50 publications

References 44 publications

ExoMars TGO/NOMAD‐UVIS Vertical Profiles of Ozone: 1. Seasonal Variation and Comparison to Water

ExoMars TGO/NOMAD‐UVIS Vertical Profiles of Ozone: 1. Seasonal Variation and Comparison to Water

The Aeolian Environment of the Landing Site for the ExoMars Rosalind Franklin Rover in Oxia Planum, Mars

Multi-model Meteorological and Aeolian Predictions for Mars 2020 and the Jezero Crater Region

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