One Mars Year: Viking Lander Imaging Observations

Jones, Kenneth L.; Arvidson, R. E.; Guinness, E. A.; Bragg, S. L.; Wall, S. D.; Carlston, C. E.; Pidek, D.

doi:10.1126/science.204.4395.799

Cited by 103 publications

(70 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…At the Viking Lander 2 site, a thin layer of frost was observed on the ground for about 250 sols, from late fall (L s = 230°) until early spring (L s = 16°) in the first year of the mission (Jones et al 1979;Wall 1981). At this location, surface frost formed at night and persisted throughout the day.…”

Section: Near-surface Relative Humidity and Water Vapor Contentmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Modern Near-Surface Martian Climate: A Review of In-situ Meteorological Data from Viking to Curiosity

et al. 2017

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We analyze the complete set of in-situ meteorological data obtained from the Viking landers in the 1970s to today's Curiosity rover to review our understanding of the modern near-surface climate of Mars, with focus on the dust, CO 2 and H 2 O cycles and their impact on the radiative and thermodynamic conditions near the surface. In particular, we provide values of the highest confidence possible for atmospheric opacity, atmospheric pressure, near-surface air temperature, ground temperature, near-surface wind speed and direction, and near-surface air relative humidity and water vapor content. Then, we study the diurnal, seasonal and interannual variability of these quantities over a span of more thanThe original version of this article was revised because due to an unfortunate turn of events a wrong value was published in Table 1. The resolution of the PHX pressure sensor was published as "0.1 mbar" whereas this value has now been corrected to "0.1 Pa" which is the correct value and should be regarded as the final version by the reader. B G.M. Martínez

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Section: Near-surface Relative Humidity and Water Vapor Contentmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Modern Near-Surface Martian Climate: A Review of In-situ Meteorological Data from Viking to Curiosity

et al. 2017

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“…Observational support for this depositional model came from Viking Lander 2 (48"N, 225.6"W) which returned images that revealed the sudden appearance of a reddish-tinted "snow" during the northern fall (Jones et al 1979, Wall 1981, Guinness et al 1982. This thin snow cover persisted throughout the northern winter and became patchy by early spring.…”

Section: Seasonal and Climatic Evolutionmentioning

confidence: 92%

The State and Future of Mars Polar Science and Exploration

Clifford

2000

Icarus

110

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20, 1999; revised October 25, 1999 As the planet's principal cold traps, the martian polar regions have accumulated extensive mantles of ice and dust that cover individual areas of -lo6 km2 and total as much as 3-4 km thick. From the scarcity of superposed craters on their surface, these layered deposits are thought to be comparatively young-preserving a record of the seasonal and climatic cycling of atmospheric COz, H20, and dust over the past NIO~-IO~ years..For this reason, the martian polar deposits may serve as a Rosetta Stone for understanding the geologic and climatic history of the planet--documenting variations in insolation (due to quasiperiodic oscillations in the planet's obliquity and orbital elements), volatile mass balance, atmospheric composition, dust storm activity, volcanic eruptions, large impacts, catastrophic floods, solar luminosity, supernovae, and perhaps even a record of microbial life. Beyond their scientific value, the polar regions may soon prove important for another reason-providing a valuable and accessible reservoir of water to support the long-term human exploration of Mars. In this paper we assess the current state of Mars polar research, identify the key questions that motivate the exploration of the polar regions, discuss the extent to which current missions will address these questions, and speculate about what additional capabilities and investigations may be required to address the issues that remain outstanding.

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“…These have been reviewed by Jakosky and Haberle [ 1992]. In addition to the broad features of the MAWD observations of atmospheric water vapor column, it is desirable that such a model produce the seasonal water frost deposits seen at the Viking Lander 2 (VL-2) site [Jones et al, 1979;Wall, 1981;Hart and Jakosky, 1986;Svitek and Murray, 1990], although the thickness of these deposits remains uncertain. Generally speaking, one-and two-dimensional mechanistic models (by which we mean models that concentrate on a single physical mechanism or process) have been unsuccessful in reproducing the observations with physically plausible parameters.…”

Section: Paper Number 97je00046mentioning

confidence: 99%

Modeling the Martian seasonal water cycle

Houben¹,

Haberle²,

Young³

et al. 1997

J. Geophys. Res.

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Abstract. Ever since the observations of Percival Lowell, the annual cycle of Martian water has been a fascinating topic in planetary exploration. Observations by the Viking Orbiter, supplemented by Earth-based microwave and infrared observations, have given us a reasonable picture of this cycle. We are now also able to model the cycle using our Mars Climate Model, a simplified atmospheric general circulation model designed specifically for this purpose. We find that a thin adsorbing layer of the Martian regolith plays a fundamental role in the water cycle, limiting the lower atmospheric relative humidity and preventing the formation of widespread ice dep6sits at low latitudes. We are thus able to estimate a largescale average value of the specific soil surface area of this regolith. Water which evaporates from the permanent north polar ice cap during summer is returned by a process of repeated evaporation and precipitation on the retreating seasonal cap the following spring, so that the global inventory of water outside the polar caps ranges within narrow limits. (There is a small net annual deposition of water ice at the south polar cap which is always at dry ice temperatures.) If ice on the residual south polar cap is exposed during the summer, it rapidly sublimes, generating vapor amounts similar to those observed in northern summer. Recovery to normal dry conditions in the southern atmosphere occurs very rapidly in the next year. Such an event could explain the otherwise anomalous Earth-based pre-Viking observations of a wet southern summer. If southern ice deposits at lower latitudes are exposed, the vapor can be transfered irreversibly through the strong Hadley cell to the north polar cap. We therefore speculate that the asymmetry of Mars' current orbit is responsible for the asymmetry of the present water distribution (with extensive permanent water ice deposits located only in the colder, aphelion summer, northern hemisphere).

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One Mars Year: Viking Lander Imaging Observations

Cited by 103 publications

References 23 publications

The Modern Near-Surface Martian Climate: A Review of In-situ Meteorological Data from Viking to Curiosity

The Modern Near-Surface Martian Climate: A Review of In-situ Meteorological Data from Viking to Curiosity

The State and Future of Mars Polar Science and Exploration

Modeling the Martian seasonal water cycle

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