| 1. |
|
|
| 2. |
- Moore, Casey A., et al.
(författare)
-
A Full Martian Year of Line-of-Sight Extinction within Gale Crater, Mars as Acquired by the MSL Navcam through sol 900
- 2016
-
Ingår i: Icarus. - : Elsevier BV. - 0019-1035 .- 1090-2643. ; 264, s. 102-108
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We report on line-of-sight extinction in northern Gale Crater, Mars as seen by the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) rover, Curiosity from sol 100 to sol 900; a little more than an entire martian year. Navcam images oriented due north, which show the distant crater rim, the near ground and the sky allow the extinction due to dust within the crater to be determined. This line-of sight extinction is compared to a complementary dataset of column extinctions derived from Mastcam. The line-of-sight extinction within the crater is less than the column extinction for the majority of the martian year. This implies that the relatively low mixing ratio of dust within the crater as compared to the atmosphere above the crater rim persists through most of the year. This suggests relatively little mixing between the atmosphere above the crater and the atmosphere inside the crater and suggests that northern Gale Crater is a net sink of dust in the current era. The data does however show a yearly convergence of the line-of-sight extinction and the column-averaged extinction around Ls = 270° – 290°. This suggests that air above the crater mixes with air in the crater at this time, as predicted by mesoscale models. Matching line-of-sight and column extinction values are also seen around Ls ≈ 135°, a season that has only been observed once in this dataset, this is particularly interesting as the Rover Environmental Monitoring Station onboard Curiosity reports increased convective boundary layer heights in the same season.
|
|
| 3. |
- Moores, John E., et al.
(författare)
-
Atmospheric movies acquired at the Mars Science Laboratory landing site : Cloud Morphology, Frequency and Significance to the Gale Crater Water Cycle and Phoenix Mission Results
- 2015
-
Ingår i: Advances in Space Research. - : Elsevier BV. - 0273-1177 .- 1879-1948. ; 55:9, s. 2217-2238
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We report on the first 360 sols (LS 150° to 5°), representing just over half a Martian year, of atmospheric monitoring movies acquired using the NavCam imager from the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Rover Curiosity. Such movies reveal faint clouds that are difficult to discern in single images. The data set acquired was divided into two different classifications depending upon the orientation and intent of the observation. Up to sol 360, 73 Zenith Movies and 79 Supra-Horizon Movies have been acquired and time-variable features could be discerned in 25 of each. The data set from MSL is compared to similar observations made by the Surface Stereo Imager (SSI) onboard the Phoenix Lander and suggests a much drier environment at Gale Crater (4.6°S) during this season than was observed in Green Valley (68.2°N) as would be expected based on latitude and the global water cycle. The optical depth of the variable component of clouds seen in images with features are up to 0.047 ± 0.009 with a granularity to the features observed which averages 3.8 degrees. MCS also observes clouds during the same period of comparable optical depth at 30 and 50 km that would suggest a cloud spacing of 2.0 to 3.3 km. Multiple motions visible in atmospheric movies support the presence of two distinct layers of clouds. At Gale Crater, these clouds are likely caused by atmospheric waves given the regular spacing of features observed in many Zenith movies and decreased spacing towards the horizon in sunset movies consistent with clouds forming at a constant elevation. Reanalysis of Phoenix data in the light of the NavCam equatorial dataset suggests that clouds may have been more frequent in the earlier portion of the Phoenix mission than was previously thought.
|
|
| 4. |
- Moores, John E., et al.
(författare)
-
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
-
Ingår i: Icarus. - : Elsevier BV. - 0019-1035 .- 1090-2643. ; 249, s. 129-142
-
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.
|
|
| 5. |
|
|
| 6. |
- Webster, Christopher R., et al.
(författare)
-
Background levels of methane in Mars' atmosphere show strong seasonal variations
- 2018
-
Ingår i: Science. - : American Association for the Advancement of Science. - 0036-8075 .- 1095-9203. ; 360:6393, s. 1093-1096
-
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.
|
|
