The Martian dust cycle

Abstract

Martian dust plays a key role in determining the current climate of Mars, and is suspected of having had a major influence on the evolution of the surface and the history of climatic conditions on the planet. From spacecraft and ground-based observations, some understanding has been acquired of the styles and frequency of dust motion in the atmosphere and at the surface, of atmospheric dust loading, dust particle properties, and their variability. Limited constraints have also been derived for the volumes and ages of some potential dust reservoirs on the surface. These data are adequate to frame questions about the seasonal and long-term cycles of dust of Mars. Additional data are needed to place quantitative constraints on components of these cycles, on their possible linkage to one another, and to draw conclusions from the dust budget about the climate history of Mars.