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- Moores, John E., et al.
(författare)
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Observational evidence of a suppressed planetary boundary layer in northern Gale Crater, Mars as seen by the Navcam instrument onboard the Mars Science Laboratory rover
- 2015
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Ingår i: Icarus. - : Elsevier BV. - 0019-1035 .- 1090-2643. ; 249, s. 129-142
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Navigation Cameras (Navcam) of the Mars Science Laboratory rover, Curiosity, have been used to examine two aspects of the planetary boundary layer: vertical dust distribution and dust devil frequency. The vertical distribution of dust may be obtained by using observations of the distant crater rim to derive a line-of-sight optical depth within Gale Crater and comparing this optical depth to column optical depths obtained using Mastcam observations of the solar disc. The line of sight method consistently produces lower extinctions within the crater compared to the bulk atmosphere. This suggests a relatively stable atmosphere in which dust may settle out leaving the air within the crater clearer than air above and explains the correlation in observed column opacity between the floor of Gale Crater and the higher elevation Meridiani Planum. In the case of dust devils, despite an extensive campaign only one optically thick vortex (τ=1.5±0.5×10-3) was observed compared to 149 pressure events > 0.5Pa observed in REMS pressure data. Correcting for temporal coverage by REMS and geographic coverage by Navcam still suggests 104 vortices should have been viewable, suggesting that most vortices are dustless. Additionally, the most intense pressure excursions observed on other landing sites (pressure drop >2.5Pa) are lacking from the observations by the REMS instrument. Taken together, these observations are consistent with pre-landing circulation modeling of the crater showing a suppressed, shallow boundary layer. They are further consistent with geological observations of dust that suggests the northern portion of the crater is a sink for dust in the current era.
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| 3. |
- Webster, Christopher R., et al.
(författare)
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Background levels of methane in Mars' atmosphere show strong seasonal variations
- 2018
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Ingår i: Science. - : American Association for the Advancement of Science. - 0036-8075 .- 1095-9203. ; 360:6393, s. 1093-1096
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Variable levels of methane in the martian atmosphere have eluded explanation partly because the measurements are not repeatable in time or location. We report in situ measurements at Gale crater made over a 5-year period by the Tunable Laser Spectrometer on the Curiosity rover. The background levels of methane have a mean value 0.41 ± 0.16 parts per billion by volume (ppbv) (95% confidence interval) and exhibit a strong, repeatable seasonal variation (0.24 to 0.65 ppbv). This variation is greater than that predicted from either ultraviolet degradation of impact-delivered organics on the surface or from the annual surface pressure cycle. The large seasonal variation in the background and occurrences of higher temporary spikes (~7 ppbv) are consistent with small localized sources of methane released from martian surface or subsurface reservoirs.
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- Kahanpää, Henrik, et al.
(författare)
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Convective vortices and dust devils at the MSL landing site : annual variability
- 2016
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Ingår i: Journal of Geophysical Research - Planets. - 2169-9097 .- 2169-9100. ; 121:8, s. 1514-1549
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Two hundred fifty-two transient drops in atmospheric pressure, likely caused by passing convective vortices, were detected by the Rover Environmental Monitoring Station instrument during the first Martian year of the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) landed mission. These events resembled the vortex signatures detected by the previous Mars landers Pathfinder and Phoenix; however, the MSL observations contained fewer pressure drops greater than 1.5 Pa and none greater than 3.0 Pa. Apparently, these vortices were generally not lifting dust as only one probable dust devil has been observed visually by MSL. The obvious explanation for this is the smaller number of strong vortices with large central pressure drops since according to Arvidson et al. [2014] ample dust seems to be present on the surface. The annual variation in the number of detected convective vortices followed approximately the variation in Dust Devil Activity (DDA) predicted by the MarsWRF numerical climate model. This result does not prove, however, that the amount of dust lifted by dust devils would depend linearly on DDA, as is assumed in several numerical models of the Martian atmosphere, since dust devils are only the most intense fraction of all convective vortices on Mars, and the amount of dust that can be lifted by a dust devil depends on its central pressure drop. Sol-to-sol variations in the number of vortices were usually small. However, on 1 Martian solar day a sudden increase in vortex activity, related to a dust storm front, was detected.
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| 7. |
- Ullán, Aurora, et al.
(författare)
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Analysis of wind-induced dynamic pressure fluctuations during one and a half Martian years at Gale Crater
- 2017
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Ingår i: Icarus. - : Elsevier. - 0019-1035 .- 1090-2643. ; 288, s. 78-87
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Rover Environmental Monitoring Station (REMS) instrument on-board the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) has acquired unprecedented measurements of key environmental variables at the base of Gale Crater. The pressure measured by REMS shows modulations with a very structured pattern of short-time scale (of the order of seconds to several minutes) mild fluctuations (typically up to 0.2 Pa at daytime and 1 Pa at night-time). These dynamic pressure oscillations are consistent with wind, air and ground temperature modulations measured simultaneously by REMS. We detect the signals of a repetitive pattern of upslope/downslope winds, with maximal speeds of about 21 m/s, associated with thermal changes in the air and surface temperatures, that are initiated after sunset and finish with sunrise proving that Gale, a 4.5 km deep impact crater, is an active Aeolian environment. At nighttime topographic slope winds are intense with maximal activity from 17:00 through 23:00 Local Mean Solar Time, and simultaneous changes of surface temperature are detected. During the day, the wind modulations are related to convection of the planetary boundary layer, winds are softer with maximum wind speed of about 14 m/s. The ground temperature is modulated by the forced convection of winds, with amplitudes between 0.2 K and 0.5 K, and the air temperatures fluctuate with amplitudes of about 2 K. The analysis of more than one and a half Martian years indicates the year-to-year repeatability of these environmental phenomena. The wind pattern minimizes at the beginning of the south hemisphere winter (Ls 90) season and maximizes during late spring and early summer (Ls 270). The procedure that we present here is a useful tool to investigate in a semi-quantitative way the winds by: i) filling both seasonal and diurnal gaps where wind measurements do not exist, ii) providing an alternative way for comparisons through different measuring principia and, iii) filling the gap of observation of short time-wind variability, where the REMS wind-sensor is blind
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