Preliminary Meteorological Results on Mars from the Viking 1 Lander

Hess, Siegfried; Henry, Robert; Leovy, Conway Β.; Ryan, Jack; Tillman, J. E.; Chamberlain, Thomas E.; Cole, Harold L.; Dutton, R. G.; Greene, G. C.; Simon, W. E.; Mitchell, J. L.

doi:10.1126/science.193.4255.788

Cited by 56 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…Although the width of the weighting functions prohibits the planetary boundary layer from actually being resolved, the large temperature change between the surface and the near-surface atmospheric layer seen in this profile is not unexpected for midafternoon conditions. The meteorology instruments on the Viking landers [Hess et al, 1976] recorded daytime gas temperatures at 1.6 m as much as 25 K colder than the ground temperatures inferred from the IRTM data.…”

Section: Effects Of Geographic Location Local Time and Dust Abundancementioning

confidence: 85%

Thermal structure and dust loading of the Martian atmosphere during late southern summer: Mariner 9 revisited

Santee

Crisp

1993

J. Geophys. Res.

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The temperature structure and dust loading of the Martian atmosphere are investigated using thermal emission spectra recorded by the Mariner 9 infrared interferometer spectrometer (IRIS). The analysis is restricted to a subset of the IRIS data consisting of approximately 2400 spectra in a 12‐day period extending from LS =343° to LS =348°, corresponding to late southern summer on Mars. Simultaneous retrieval of the vertical distribution of both atmospheric temperature and dust optical depth is accomplished through an iterative procedure which is performed on each spectrum. The inclusion of dust opacity in the retrieval algorithm causes the retrieved temperatures to change by more than 20 K in some atmospheric layers. The largest column‐integrated 9 μm dust optical depths (∼ 0.4) occur over the equatorial regions. The highest atmospheric temperatures (> 260 K) are found at low altitudes near the subsolar latitude (∼ 6°S) while the coldest temperatures (< 150 K) are found at levels near 1.0 mbar over the winter pole. A comparison of temperature maps for 1400 LT and 0200 LT indicates diurnal temperature variations as large as 80 K at low altitudes near the subsolar latitude, whereas diurnal temperature changes at pressures less than 1.0 mbar are typically about 10 K. Both dayside and night side temperatures above about 0.1 mbar (∼ 40 km) are warmer over the winter (north) polar region than over the equator or the summer (south) polar region. This thermal structure suggests the existence of a net zonally averaged meridional circulation with rising motion at low latitudes, poleward flow at altitudes above 40 km, and subsidence over the poles. Because a meridional circulation transports atmospheric constituents as well as heat, it has significant implications for the net flux of dust and water into the polar regions.

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Section: Effects Of Geographic Location Local Time and Dust Abundancementioning

confidence: 85%

Thermal structure and dust loading of the Martian atmosphere during late southern summer: Mariner 9 revisited

Santee

Crisp

1993

J. Geophys. Res.

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“…The VMIS temperature and wind measurements suffered from wind direction‐dependent thermal contamination due to the heat plume emanating from the radioisotope thermal generators (RTGs [ Hess et al , 1977]) (see Figure 9). The initial observational strategy was to collect data with sample intervals of 4 s or 8 s in 11 min modules spaced 1 h 27 min apart [ Hess et al , 1976].…”

Section: Recent and Current Missions And Observationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Martian Atmospheric Boundary Layer

Petrosyan

Galperin

Larsen

et al. 2011

Reviews of Geophysics

144

111

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[1] The planetary boundary layer (PBL) represents the part of the atmosphere that is strongly influenced by the presence of the underlying surface and mediates the key interactions between the atmosphere and the surface. On Mars, this represents the lowest 10 km of the atmosphere during the daytime. This portion of the atmosphere is extremely important, both scientifically and operationally, because it is the region within which surface lander spacecraft must operate and also determines exchanges of heat, momentum, dust, water, and other tracers between surface and subsurface reservoirs and the free atmosphere. To date, this region of the atmosphere has been studied directly, by instrumented lander spacecraft, and from orbital remote sensing, though not to the extent that is necessary to fully constrain its character and behavior. Current data strongly suggest that as for the Earth's PBL, classical Monin-Obukhov similarity theory applies reasonably well to the Martian PBL under most conditions, though with some intriguing differences relating to the lower atmospheric density at the Martian surface and the likely greater role of direct radiative heating of the atmosphere within the PBL itself. Most of the modeling techniques used for the PBL on Earth are also being applied to the Martian PBL, including novel uses of very high resolution large eddy simulation methods. We conclude with those aspects of the PBL that require new measurements in order to constrain models and discuss the extent to which anticipated missions to Mars in the near future will fulfill these requirements.

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“…Inclusion of diffusion of heat into the atmosphere by conductive coupling with the surface will have a form similar to heat diffusion into the subsurface and will not generate a significantly different class of model solutions. If we assume that convection is unimportant in the lower 1.4 m of the atmosphere, the Viking meteorology temperature measurements [Hess et al, 1976] can be compared with the surface temperature measurements (paper 1) to provide a lower limit to the heat exchange with the atmosphere. By using an average temperature gradient of 10 K in 1.5 m for one half of a Martian day the conductive heat transfer is 0.08 calcm -•', only 10 -3 of the heat transfer into the subsurface.…”

Section: Detectability Of Lnternal Heat Sourcementioning

confidence: 99%

Thermal and albedo mapping of Mars during the Viking primary mission

Kieffer¹,

Martin²,

Peterfreund³

et al. 1977

J. Geophys. Res.

625

449

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Measurements of Martian emission and reflection reveal wide variations of surface properties and indicate the presence of a larger atmospheric contribution to the observed radiances than was anticipated. Temperatures observed during the Viking primary mission range from 130 to 290 K. Surface thermal inertias from 1.6 to 11×10−3 cal cm−2 s−1/2 K−1 are mapped, and they correlate with surficial geologic units. An equatorial map of bolometric albedo generally correlates with prior narrowband observations. These albedos range from 0.09 to 0.43; some regional brightenings are atmospheric in origin. The photometric behavior implies quasi‐Lambertian surface reflectance plus a strongly forward‐scattering atmosphere. Brightness temperatures at large emission angles are strongly influenced by atmospheric infrared opacity and by the presence of rocks on the surface. The correlation and grouping of albedo and thermal inertia indicate that there are two major components of Martian surface material, with bright regions having a fine particulate covering. Winter polar temperatures show spatial and temporal variations, suggesting variation of atmospheric composition; a strong atmospheric temperature inversion exists above the south polar cap during winter. Surface CO2 condensation may also occur locally near the equator before dawn. Rising temperatures before dawn in a region near Arsia Mons imply the presence of daily local water ice fogs.

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Preliminary Meteorological Results on Mars from the Viking 1 Lander

Cited by 56 publications

References 5 publications

Thermal structure and dust loading of the Martian atmosphere during late southern summer: Mariner 9 revisited

Thermal structure and dust loading of the Martian atmosphere during late southern summer: Mariner 9 revisited

The Martian Atmospheric Boundary Layer

Thermal and albedo mapping of Mars during the Viking primary mission

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