EGU22-4455
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu22-4455
EGU General Assembly 2022
© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Estimating heavy ions escape rate from Mars using hybrid model and observations from MAVEN

Qi Zhang1,2, Mats Holmström1, Xiaodong Wang1, and Shahab Fatemi2
Qi Zhang et al.
  • 1Swedish institute of space physics, Sweden
  • 2Department of Physics, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden

We apply a new method, coupling a hybrid plasma model (ions as particles, electrons as a fluid) and measurements from the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) mission, to calculate heavy ion escape rates from Mars. With this method, we acquire estimates of the escape rate orbit by orbit in different upstream conditions. We have investigated how the estimated ion escape depends on the assumed composition of heavy ions, the solar wind velocity aberration and the amount of alpha particles in the solar wind. We also estimate the amount of tail escape and radial escape and compare the model results with  recent Mars Express and MAVEN studies.

How to cite: Zhang, Q., Holmström, M., Wang, X., and Fatemi, S.: Estimating heavy ions escape rate from Mars using hybrid model and observations from MAVEN, EGU General Assembly 2022, Vienna, Austria, 23–27 May 2022, EGU22-4455, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu22-4455, 2022.