Electrostatic discharge in Martian dust storms

Abstract

Abstract. Although the Martian atmosphere does not satisfy general requirements for lightning generation, there is a possibility of electrical discharge in the case of strong surface winds and a resulting extremely large dust mass loading in the course of large dust storms occurring on this planet. On Earth, negative potential gradients of many thousands of volts per meter have been measured during dust storms when winds are sufficiently strong. However, owing to a lower pressure in the Martian atmosphere, the required voltage for electrical breakdown is lower than on Earth. After a brief review of the observations concerning Earth's atmosphere and the laboratory experiments performed to understand these phenomena, the results of numerical simulation of the electrification in Martian dust storms are presented. Known characteristics of Martian dust grains and the Martian atmosphere are considered, and the different forces applied to the dust particles are taken into account. The electrostatic potential and the evolution of the charge density are calculated using Poisson's equation and the continuity equation. Two different wind configurations in the Martian atmosphere are studied: a wind vortex and a wind parallel to the ground encountering an obstacle (a small hill). It is shown that electric discharge occurs under specific conditions.

The Noise Model of the SEIS Seismometer of the InSight Mission to Mars

“…Even if no electric field has been recorded yet on Mars (ExoMars 2016 will carry an electric field measurement experiment described in Déprez et al 2015), there are several possible physical phenomena that could generate one, ranging from electrostatic charging to possible thunderstorms-see Melnik and Parrot (1998). Among these processes, the saltation process and the transport of wind-blown sand, as well as dust storms and dust devils can produce local electric fields at the surface of Mars, see Kok and Renno (2008).…”

Quasi‐electrostatic field analysis and simulation of Martian and terrestrial dust devils

“…Recent numerical and analytical studies show that the micro-electro-aerodynamical system of a dust devil is an efficient giant electric generator that may trigger Martian electrical discharges and radio emissions Parrot, 1998, 1999;Farrell et al, , 2003. Experimental evidence in a Martian-like lab environment has shown the possibility of electric discharges of Martian dust storms [Eden and Vonnegut, 1973], and theoretical and modeling studies have indicated that under some conditions, discharging may occur [Melnik and Parrot, 1998;Farrell et al, 2003]. However, many critical issues, such as under what conditions can the field reach breakdown values and whether charge and electric field growth will be saturated before reaching the breakdown, have not been systematically addressed.…”

“…[4] Dust particles are electrified in a dust devil when they collide with each other as a result of differences in sizes and contact potentials between compositionally distinct materials [Melnik and Parrot, 1998;Desch and Cuzzi, 2000]. When two particles of similar composition collide, the smaller grain tends to be negatively charged, and the larger grain obtains an equal but opposite charge.…”

Fundamental theories and basic principles of triboelectric effect: A review

“…The size-dependence of particle triboelectrification is observed in both natural phenomena [10,65] and industrial processes [11,66], which gives it priority in research fields and for which many modeling studies have been conducted [9,67,68].…”