Engineering Papers⌕ Search

Engineering topics

Leovy, C. B.

Publications and source records attributed to Leovy, C. B..

At least 37 records · Page 2
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1981

A Martian general circulation experiment with large topography

A three-layer general circulation model of the Martian atmosphere is described, and the assumptions governing the model are discussed. The simulated, zonally averaged circulation is found to have only limited sensitivity to differences between this model and an earlier general circulation model; this circulation compares reasonably well with observations. It is also found that the meridional mass flow produced by the seasonal condensation of CO2 in the winter polar region has a major influence on the circulation; owing to the weak influence of atmospheric heat transport, however, the mass flow is governed almost entirely by radiation. Quasi-barotropic stationary waves, which are forced kinematically by the topography and which resemble topographically forced terrestrial planetary waves, are generated by the model in the winter hemisphere region of strong eastward flow, while baroclinic stationary waves are thermally forced by topography in the tropics and summer subtropics. It is also concluded that transient baroclinically unstable waves, of somewhat lower dominant wavenumber than those found on the earth, are generated in winter midlatitudes; their amplitudes, wavenumbers, and phase speeds closely agree with what has been deduced from the Viking lander observations.

Pollack, J. B.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Observations of Martian tides over two annual cycles

The first four diurnal surface pressure harmonics have been analyzed over major portions of two Martian annual cycles (Mars years) at the two Viking lander sites. The diurnal harmonics of surface wind have also been analyzed at one of the sites. Since the atmospheric tides have previously been shown to provide a good indication of Martian global dust storms, these results provide a basis for comparing dust storm activity in the two years. Two global dust storms occurred during the first year. During the second year, there was only one major storm, and it closely followed the pattern of the first storm of the first year. A significant feature of the results is the brief, but nearly complete, vanishing of the diurnal pressure tide at the onset of one of the global dust storms. It is proposed that this may have been due to interference between the normal westward-propagating diurnal tide and a topographically forced eastward propagating tide, and that the latter may have helped initiate the global storm.

Leovy, C. B.↗
NASA NTRS1980

The annual cycle of pressure on Mars measured by Viking landers 1 and 2

Daily mean atmospheric pressures at the two Viking landers are presented for slightly more than a Martian year. The seasonal variation of pressure owing to exchange of CO2 with the polar caps is quite evident and contradicts, in part, earlier theoretical results. Day-to-day variations are the result of passage of synoptic-scale high and low pressure systems and are an important clue to the general circulation of the atmosphere. The effects of global dust storms on the general circulation and on the diurnal variation of pressure are detected and interpreted.

Hess, S. L.↗
NASA NTRS1979

A numerical model of the Martian polar cap winds

An investigation of the Martian polar cap winds and their response to a variety of factors is carried out by numerical experiments based on a zonally symmetric primitive equation model. The seasonal thermal forcing, mass exchange between polar caps and atmosphere, large-scale topography, and polar cap size are discussed, noting that topography has a small effect, but the circulation intensity increases with cap size. The model results show that surface winds near the edge of a retreating polar cap are enhanced, and that the surficial wind indicators near the south pole are formed during spring and those near the north pole during winter. It is suggested that the high-latitude dune fields in the northern hemisphere are formed when the terrain is covered by frost, and that the saltating particles are 'snowflakes' which formed by the mechanism proposed by Pollack (1976). The model results for the winter simulation compare favorably with general circulation model (GCM) calculations.

Haberle, R. M.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Thermal tides and Martian dust storms - Direct evidence for coupling

Evidence for the coupling of diurnal and semidiurnal thermal tides, observed as surface pressure oscillations at the Viking Lander 1 and 2 landing sites, to Martian global dust storms is presented and the implications for models of dust storm generation are discussed. Local atmospheric opacity increases and jumps in atmospheric pressure ranges were found to be essentially simultaneous, and diurnal and semidiurnal components of the pressure and wind oscillations were observed to increase markedly after the onset of a dust storm. The semidiurnal wind component can be related to the observed surface pressure variations by means of a model of a semidiurnally forced Ekman boundary layer. However, a classical atmospheric tidal model shows that the preferential enhancement of the semidiurnal surface pressure oscillation observed at the Lander 1 site can be produced by a tidal heating distribution in which most of the heating is done at an altitude above 10 km. Observations suggest that various mechanisms are important for the generation and decay of global Martian dust storms.

Leovy, C. B.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Martian meteorology

Viking mission results concerning the structure and dynamics of the Martian atmosphere are reviewed. The large-scale variability of pressure, temperature, and zonally averaged wind at the Lander sites is described, and small-scale phenomena involving the boundary layer and internal gravity waves are discussed. Observational evidence for the existence of transient planetary-scale waves, forced quasi-stationary waves, and thermal tides on Mars is examined. Atmospheric dynamics and properties of dust storms are considered, with emphasis on dust properties and distribution, the time evolution of planetwide dust storms, and dust-storm genesis and decay. Attention is also given to the nature of past Martian climates, the sizes and composition of volatile reservoirs, and volatile escape from the atmosphere.

Leovy, C. B.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Diurnal variations of the Martian surface layer meteorological parameters during the first 45 sols at two Viking Lander sites

Wind speed, ambient and surface temperatures from both Viking Landers have been used to compute bulk Richardson numbers and Monin-Obukhov lengths during the earliest phase of the Mars missions. These parameters are used to estimate drag and heat transfer coefficients, friction velocities and surface heat fluxes at the two sites. The principal uncertainty is in the specification of the roughness length. Maximum heat fluxes occur near local noon at both sites, and are estimated to be in the range 15-20 W/sq m at the Viking 1 site and 10-15 W/sq m at the Viking 2 site. Maximum values of friction velocity occur in late morning at Viking 1 and are estimated to be 0.4-0.6 m/s. They occur shortly after dawn at the Viking 2 site where peak values are estimated to be in the range 0.25-0.35 m/s. Extension of these calculations to later times during the mission will require allowance for dust opacity effects in the estimation of surface temperature and in the correction of radiation errors of the Viking 2 temperature sensor.

Sutton, J. L.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Mars meteorology - Three seasons at the surface

We summarize some meteorological results from Viking for northern summer, autumn and winter. Little Sol-to-Sol meteorological change was observed during summer, except for secular pressure change. However, a regular sequence of weather disturbances, interpreted as baroclinic waves, appeared primarily at VL-2 during autumn and winter. The number of Rossby waves present at a given instant is calculated to be 4 and 6 for these seasons. The extreme regularity and low wave number make these systems closely resemble the baroclinic waves of rotating annulus experiments.

Ryan, J. A.↗
NASA NTRS1977

Meteorological results from the surface of Mars - Viking 1 and 2

The meteorology equipment carried by the Viking landers was intended to measure atmospheric temperature, wind speed, wind direction, and pressure. During the summer months, the winds were a few meters per second, with a complex hodograph and the Lander-1 site, dominated by counterclockwise turning of the wind, and a simpler hodograph at the Lander-2 site, marked by clockwise turning of the wind. With advancing season, the repetitive wind pattern began to break down, and protracted northeasterly winds were recorded on several occasions (some of which are associated with lower than normal temperatures). Examples are given of wind and temperature traces over short periods, illustrating the effects of convection, static stability, and lander interference. A theoretical argument, based on the horizontal scale dictated by heating of slopes and on vertical mixing of momentum, is presented to explain the different sense of wind rotation at the two lander sites.

Hess, S. L.↗
NASA NTRS1976

Early meteorological results from the Viking 2 lander

Early results from the meteorological instruments on the Viking 2 lander are presented. As on lander 1, the daily patterns of temperature, wind, and pressure have been highly repetitive during the early summer period. The average daily maximum temperature was 241 K and the diurnal minimum was 191 K. The wind has a vector mean of 0.7 meter per second from the southeast with a diurnal amplitude of 3 meters per second. Pressure exhibits both diurnal and semidiurnal oscillations, although of substantially smaller amplitude than those of lander 1. Departures from the repetitive diurnal patterns begin to appear on sol 37.

Hess, S. L.↗
NASA NTRS1976

Mars climatology from Viking 1 after 20 sols

Results from the meteorology instruments on the Viking 1 lander are presented for the first 20 sols of operation. The daily patterns of temperature, wind, and pressure have been highly consistent during the period. Hence, these have been assembled into 20-sol composistes and analyzed harmonically. Maximum temperature was 241.8 K and minimum was 187.2 K. The composite wind vector has a mean diurnal magnitude of 2.4 meters per second with prevailing wind from the south and counterclockwise diurnal rotation. Pressure exhibits diurnal and semidiurnal oscillations. The diurnal is ascribed to a combination of effects, and the semidiurnal appears to be the solar semidiurnal tide. Similarities to earth are discussed. A major finding is a continual secular decrease in diurnal mean pressure. This is ascribed to carbon dioxide deposition at the south polar cap.

Hess, S. L.↗
NASA NTRS1976

Viking-1 meteorological measurements - First impressions

A preliminary evaluation is given of in situ meteorological measurements made by Viking 1 on Mars. The data reported show that: (1) the atmosphere has approximate volume mixing ratios of 1.5% argon, 3% nitrogen, and 95% carbon dioxide; (2) the diurnal temperature range is large and regular, with a sunrise minimum of about 188 K and a midafternoon maximum near 244 K; (3) air and ground temperatures coincide quite closely during the night, but ground temperature exceeds air temperature near midday by as much as 25 C; (4) the winds exhibit a marked diurnal cycle; and (5) a large diurnal pressure variation with an afternoon minimum and an early-morning maximum parallels the wind pattern. The variations are explained in terms of familiar meteorological processes. It is suggested that latent heat is unlikely to play an important role on Mars because no evidence has been observed for traveling synoptic-scale disturbances such as those that occur in the terrestrial tropics.

Hess, S. L.↗
NASA NTRS1976

Preliminary meteorological results on Mars from the Viking 1 lander

The results from the meteorology instruments on the Viking 1 lander are presented for the first 4 sols of operation. The instruments are working satisfactorily. Temperatures fluctuated from a low of 188 K to an estimated maximum of 244 K. The mean pressure is 7.65 millibars with a diurnal variation of amplitude 0.1 millibar. Wind speeds averaged over several minutes have ranged from essentially calm to 9 meters per second. Wind directions have exhibited a remarkable regularity which may be associated with nocturnal downslope winds and gravitational oscillations, or to tidal effects of the diurnal pressure wave, or to both.

Hess, S. L.↗
NASA NTRS1976

Winds on Mars during the Viking season - Predictions based on a general circulation model with topography

The Arakawa-Mintz general circulation model of the earth has been applied to Mars at the season of the Viking Lander mission. Allowance has been made for the effects of the large Martian topography. The calculated wind fields exhibit significant zonally symmetric, topographically forced, and diurnal tidal components. Average wind speeds of 20-25 m/sec were found at three possible landing sites, with wind speeds occasionally reaching values as much as a factor of 2 larger than these average values. If buffering by CO2 adsorbed in the regolith can be neglected, a pressure decline of about 0.8 mb is expected over the first two months of operation of the first lander.

Pollack, J. B.↗
NASA NTRS1976

Stratospheric long waves - Comparison of thermal structure in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres

Stratospheric radiance and temperature data obtained in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres during 1971 and 1972 are analyzed in order to compare planetary-wave behavior in both hemispheres. The data sources include the reduced radiance data of the Nimbus 4 selective chopper radiometer, National Meteorological Center gridded data, and Eole constant-level balloon data. Large-amplitude wave oscillations with energy in the period range from 20 to 30 days are observed along with the eastward propagation of planetary wave 2 in the Southern Hemisphere and a strong vertical coherence in wave phase at all levels between 200 mb and the upper stratosphere. The results show that: (1) despite stationary forcing, eastward phase progression occurs for wave 2 in the south as well as during the amplification phase of wave 1 in both hemispheres; (2) the upper stratosphere in midwinter contains regions of apparent barotropic instability, especially in the south; (3) wave number 2 amplitudes grow from very low values in early winter to high values in late winter; (4) the meridional amplitude structure is similar in the upper stratosphere in both hemispheres; and (5) the equatorward extent of waves is directly related to zonal wind speed in the upper stratosphere.

Leovy, C. B.↗
NASA NTRS1974

Mariner 9 observations of the Mars north polar hood

Mariner 9 photographs showing variations in the behavior of the Mars atmosphere over 21 consecutive days during northern winter are displayed. The photographs show the north polar cloud hood to be highly variable from day to day, with variations suggestive of development, motion, and decay of baroclinic waves. Lee wave clouds apparently composed primarily of water ice, convective cloud lines inferred to consist of CO2 ice, and dust clouds all occur frequently in the active region between latitudes 40 and 60 N. The wave clouds show that persistent surface westerlies and strong westerly shear occur in this region.

Briggs, G. A.↗