EGU22-4307
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu22-4307
EGU General Assembly 2022
© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Seasonal variability of dust on Mars: Lessons learned from Earth for dust mass estimation

María-Ángeles López-Cayuela1, María-Paz Zorzano2, Carmen Córdoba-Jabonero1, Clara Violeta Carvajal-Pérez1, and Juan Luis Guerrero-Rascado3,4
María-Ángeles López-Cayuela et al.
  • 1Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial (INTA), Atmospheric Research and Instrumentation Branch, 28850-Torrejón de Ardoz (Madrid), Spain (lopezcma@inta.es; cordobajc@inta.es; ccarper@inta.es)
  • 2Centro de Astrobiología (CSIC-INTA), 28850-Torrejón de Ardoz (Madrid), Spain (zorzanomm@cab.inta-csic.es)
  • 3Andalusian Institute for Earth System Research (IISTA-CEAMA), 18006-Granada, Spain (rascado@ugr.es)
  • 4University of Granada (UGR), Applied Physics Department, 18071-Granada, Spain (rascado@ugr.es)

The study of dust transport on Mars is crucial to understanding the dust climatic implications. The dust mass loading is one of the main proxies to evaluate indeed the role of dust on the atmospheric dynamics.

Earth studies on dust can serve to estimate the dust mass concentration from the opacity observations on Mars. Nine years of Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) data on Martian weather patterns are available. In particular, the Thermal Emission Spectrometer (TES) database with Martian dust opacity observations is used in this work to assess the seasonal dust mass variability.

First, the space-time variability of the Martian dust opacity is yearly studied using averages in bins of 2° latitude x 5° longitude and 5° aerocentric longitude (Ls). This information allows for estimating the potential planetary dust liftings and depositions. Second, extinction-to-mass conversion factors for dust particles, as obtained from different dust desert regions on Earth (Sahara, Arabian Peninsula, Gobi, …), are applied to Mars dust opacity (i.e., dust extinction) retrievals in order to determine the variability of the dust mass loading during the dust transport on Mars. Third, a seasonal study is performed. Results present an overall dust dynamic scenario in terms of the seasonal dust mass variation across the planet.

How to cite: López-Cayuela, M.-Á., Zorzano, M.-P., Córdoba-Jabonero, C., Carvajal-Pérez, C. V., and Guerrero-Rascado, J. L.: Seasonal variability of dust on Mars: Lessons learned from Earth for dust mass estimation, EGU General Assembly 2022, Vienna, Austria, 23–27 May 2022, EGU22-4307, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu22-4307, 2022.

Displays

Display file