Solar and solar wind energy drivers for O+ and O2+ ion escape at Mars
- 1Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado, USA
- 2Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
- 3Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics, and Department of Earth, Planetary, and Space, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- 4Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
- 5NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
Mars once had a dense atmosphere enabling liquid water existing on its surface, however, much of that atmosphere has since escaped to space. We examine how incoming solar and solar wind energy fluxes drive escape of atomic and molecular oxygen ions (O+ and O2+) at Mars. We use MAVEN data to evaluate ion escape from February 1, 2016 through May 25, 2022. We find that Martian O+ and O2+ have increased escape flux with increased solar wind kinetic energy flux. Increased solar wind electromagnetic energy flux also corresponds to increased O+ and O2+ escape flux. Increased solar irradiance (both total and ionizing) does not obviously increase escape of O+ and O2+. Together, these results suggest that the solar wind electromagnetic energy flux should be considered along with the kinetic energy flux, and that other parameters should be considered when evaluating solar irradiance’s impact on O+ and O2+ escape.
How to cite: Schnepf, N., Dong, Y., Brain, D., Hanley, G., Peterson, W., Strangeway, R., Thiemann, E., Halekas, J., Espley, J., Eparvier, F., and McFadden, J.: Solar and solar wind energy drivers for O+ and O2+ ion escape at Mars, EGU General Assembly 2024, Vienna, Austria, 14–19 Apr 2024, EGU24-2924, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu24-2924, 2024.
