The 2018 Martian Global Dust Storm Over the South Polar Region Studied With MEx/VMC

Hernández-Bernal, Jorge; Sánchez‐Lavega, A.; Río‐Gaztelurrutia, T. del; Hueso, R.; Cardesín‐Moinelo, Alejandro; Ravanis, Eleni; Burgos, A. de; Titov, Dmitrij; Wood, Simon

doi:10.1029/2019gl084266

Cited by 20 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…Likewise, dust continued to expand toward the South Pole, penetrating the polar cap by mid‐June (Hernandez‐Bernal. et al, in preparation ). Simultaneous to the GDS progression, secondary local storms (length scale ~ 500‐1,000 km) occurred from 10 to 19 June westward of the GDS (80°W‐130°W and 20°S‐30°S) as shown in Figure S3.…”

Section: Onset and Initial Expansion Of The Global Dust Stormmentioning

confidence: 93%

The Onset and Growth of the 2018 Martian Global Dust Storm

Sánchez‐Lavega

Río‐Gaztelurrutia

Hernández-Bernal

et al. 2019

Geophysical Research Letters

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We analyze the onset and initial expansion of the 2018 Martian Global Dust Storm (GDS 2018) using ground‐based images in the visual range. This is the first case of a confirmed GDS initiating in the Northern Hemisphere. A dusty area extending about 1.4×105 km2 and centered at latitude +31.7°±1.8° and west longitude 18°±5°W in Acidalia Planitia was captured on 30 and 31 May 2018 (Ls = 184.9°). From 1 to 8 June, daily image series showed the storm expanding southward along the Acidalia corridor with velocities of 5 m/s and simultaneously progressing eastward and westward with horizontal velocities ranging from 5 to 40 m/s. By 8 June the dust reached latitude ‐55° and later penetrated in the South polar region, whereas in the North the dust progression stopped at latitude approximately +46°. We compare the onset and expansion stage of this GDS with the previous confirmed storms.

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Section: Onset and Initial Expansion Of The Global Dust Stormmentioning

confidence: 93%

The Onset and Growth of the 2018 Martian Global Dust Storm

Sánchez‐Lavega

Río‐Gaztelurrutia

Hernández-Bernal

et al. 2019

Geophysical Research Letters

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“…A regional dust storm started near the location of the Mars Exploration Rover “Opportunity.” The visible opacity quickly reached a very high value of 10.8, which led to the end‐of‐mission of the Opportunity rover, with last communication received on 10 June 2018. The regional dust storm then moved southward along the Acidalia storm track and expanded both in the northern hemisphere from eastern Tharsis to Elysium (including the location of the Mars Science Laboratory “Curiosity” rover and the landing site of “InSight”) and towards the southern hemisphere (Hernández‐Bernal et al, ; Kass et al, ; Malin & Cantor, ; Sánchez‐Lavega et al, ; Shirley et al, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Martian Year 34 Column Dust Climatology from Mars Climate Sounder Observations: Reconstructed Maps and Model Simulations

et al. 2020

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We have reconstructed longitude-latitude maps of column dust optical depth (CDOD) for Martian year (MY) 34 (May 5, 2017 -March 23, 2019 using observations by the Mars Climate Sounder (MCS) aboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft. Our methodology works by gridding standard and newly available estimates of CDOD from MCS limb observations, using the "iterative weighted binning" methodology. In this work, we reconstruct four gridded CDOD maps per sol, at different Mars Universal Times. Together with the seasonal and day-to-day variability, the use of several maps per sol allows to explore also the daily variability of CDOD in the MCS dataset, which is shown to be particularly strong during the MY 34 equinoctial Global Dust Event (GDE). Regular maps of CDOD are then produced by daily averaging and spatially interpolating the irregularly gridded maps using a standard "kriging" interpolator, and can be used as "dust scenario" for numerical model simulations. In order to understand whether the daily variability of CDOD has a physical explanation, we have carried out numerical simulations with the "Laboratoire de Météorologie Dynamique" Mars Global Climate Model. Using a "free dust" run initiated at L s ∼ 210 • with the corresponding kriged map, but subsequently free of further CDOD forcing, we show that the model is able to account for some of the observed daily variability in CDOD. The model serves also to confirm that the use of the MY 34 daily-averaged dust scenario in a GCM produces results consistent with those obtained for the MY 25 GDE. Plain Language SummaryLarge dust storms on Mars have dramatic impacts on the entire atmosphere, but may also have critical consequences for robotic and future human missions. Therefore, there is compelling need to produce an accurate reconstruction of their spatial and temporal evolution for a variety of applications, including to guide Mars climate model simulations. The recently ended Martian year 34 (May 5, 2017 -March 23, 2019) represents a very interesting case because an extreme dust event occurred near the time of the northern autumn equinox, consisting of multiple large dust storms engulfing all longitudes and most latitudes with dust for more than 150 Martian days ("sols"). We have used satellite observations from the Mars Climate Sounder instrument aboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter to reconstruct longitude-latitude maps of the opacity of the atmospheric column due to the presence of dust at several times in each sol of Martian year 34. These maps allow us to analyze the seasonal, day-do-day, and day-night variability of dust in the atmospheric column, which is particularly intense during the extreme dust event. We have also used simulations with a Mars climate model to show that the strong day-night variability may be partly explained by the large-scale circulation.

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“…This remnant polar vortex, with high potential vorticity, was somewhat impervious to mixing with the exterior low potential vorticity and dusty atmosphere. Hernández-Bernal et al (2019) use Mars Express camera images to show graceful dust streamers crossing the day-night terminator over the south pole, illuminated later than the surface due to their high altitude ( Figure 6). Their shape and movement, which could be tracked over multiple images, serve as tracers of polar atmospheric dynamics during the storm.…”

Section: New Phenomenamentioning

confidence: 99%