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At least 739 records · Page 41

Modeling Mars Cyclogenesis and Frontal Waves: Seasonal Variations and Implications on Dust Activity

Between late autumn through early spring,middle and high latitudes onMars exhibit strong equator-to-polemean temperature contrasts (i.e., "baroclinicity"). Data collected during the Viking era and observations from both the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) indicate that such strong baroclinicity supports vigorous, large-scale eastward traveling weather systems (i.e., transient synoptic period waves) [1, 2]. For a rapidly rotating, differentially heated, shallow atmosphere such as on Earth and Mars, these large-scale, extratropical weather disturbances are critical components of the global circulation. The wave-like disturbances serve as agents in the transport of heat and momentum between low and high latitudes of the planet. Through cyclonic/anticyclonic winds, intense shear deformations, contractions-dilatations in temperature and density, and sharp perturbations amongst atmospheric tracers (i.e., dust, volatiles (e.g., water vapor) and condensates (e.g., water-ice cloud particles)), Mars' extratropical weather systems have significant sub-synoptic scale ramifications by supporting atmospheric frontal waves (Fig. 1).

Mars Global Surveyor (MGS)↗

Mars' Water Vapor Mapping by the SPICAM IR Spectrometer: Five Martian Years of Observations

The SPICAM IR instrument on the Mars Express mission continuously observes the water vapor in the martian atmosphere starting from 2004 in the 1.38-micrometer spectral band. The water vapor column abundance is retrieved from nadir observations to characterize its spatial, seasonal and interannual variations. A reference set of SPICAM water vapor column abundances (zonally averaged) covering the time period from 2004 to 2013 (martian years 27-31) is available for a grid of 2 deg Ls 2 latitude, along with an average reference map of water vapor abundance combining all the martian years of Mars Express observations. Compared to the previous data retrieval by Fedorova et al. (Fedorova, A., Korablev, O., Bertaux, J.L., Rodin, A., Kiselev, A., Perrier, S. [2006]. J. Geophys. Res. 111, E09S08) the new processing algorithm includes many improvements concerning the calibration and assumed parameters. A major improvement is the account for aerosol scattering based on dust and water ice cloud optical depths measured by THEMIS/Mars Odyssey (Smith, M.D. [2009]. Icarus 202, 444-452). The account for multiple scattering by aerosol particles increases the retrieved water vapor amount by approximately 10% in polar areas during summer, and up to 60-70% for large solar zenith angles. The sensitivity of the results to aerosol properties, surface albedo, solar spectrum, and water vapor vertical distribution has also been studied. The retrieved water vapor reveals nominal annual cycle with maximum abundance of about 60-70 pr. lm for the Northern summer and approximately 20 pr. lm for the Southern summer. The annual average amount of water has been estimated to be of 10-20 pr. micrometers, in agreement with other measurements. From year to year the seasonal cycle of water vapor abundance is very stable. An observed decrease during the MY 28 global dust storm cannot be fully attributed to the masking effect of dust, and indicates a real decrease of water amount near or above the surface. No evidence of diurnal variation of column water vapor amount was found, even though the 1.38-micrometer measurements are sensitive to the few lowermost kilometers above the surface.

Mars water vapor↗

Loop Heat Pipe Temperature Oscillation Induced by Gravity Assist and Reservoir Heating

The Laser Thermal Control System (LCTS) for the Advanced Topographic Laser Altimeter System (ATLAS) to be installed on NASA's Ice, Cloud, and Land Elevation Satellite (ICESat-2) consists of a constant conductance heat pipe and a loop heat pipe (LHP) with an associated radiator. During the recent thermal vacuum testing of the LTCS where the LHP condenser/radiator was placed in a vertical position above the evaporator and reservoir, it was found that the LHP reservoir control heater power requirement was much higher than the analytical model had predicted. Even with the control heater turned on continuously at its full power, the reservoir could not be maintained at its desired set point temperature. An investigation of the LHP behaviors found that the root cause of the problem was fluid flow and reservoir temperature oscillations, which led to persistent alternate forward and reversed flow along the liquid line and an imbalance between the vapor mass flow rate in the vapor line and liquid mass flow rate in the liquid line. The flow and temperature oscillations were caused by an interaction between gravity and reservoir heating, and were exacerbated by the large thermal mass of the instrument simulator which modulated the net heat load to the evaporator, and the vertical radiator/condenser which induced a variable gravitational pressure head. Furthermore, causes and effects of the contributing factors to flow and temperature oscillations intermingled.

Thermal Control Systems↗

Investigation on the Practicality of Developing Reduced Thermal Models

Throughout the spacecraft design and development process, detailed instrument thermal models are created to simulate their on-orbit behavior and to ensure that they do not exceed any thermal limits. These detailed models, while generating highly accurate predictions, can sometimes lead to long simulation run times, especially when integrated with a spacecraft observatory model. Therefore, reduced models containing less detail are typically produced in tandem with the detailed models so that results may be more readily available, albeit less accurate. In the current study, both reduced and detailed instrument models are integrated with their associated spacecraft bus models to examine the impact of instrument model reduction on run time and accuracy. Preexisting instrument bus thermal model pairs from several projects were used to determine trends between detailed and reduced thermal models; namely, the Mirror Optical Bench (MOB) on the Gravity and Extreme Magnetism Small Explorer (GEMS) spacecraft, Advanced Topography Laser Altimeter System (ATLAS) on the Ice, Cloud, and Elevation Satellite 2 (ICESat-2), and the Neutral Mass Spectrometer (NMS) on the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE). Hot and cold cases were run for each model to capture the behavior of the models at both thermal extremes. It was found that, though decreasing the number of nodes from a detailed to reduced model brought about a reduction in the run-time, a large time savings was not observed, nor was it a linear relationship between the percentage of nodes reduced and time saved. However, significant losses in accuracy were observed with greater model reduction. It was found that while reduced models are useful in decreasing run time, there exists a threshold of reduction where, once exceeded, the loss in accuracy outweighs the benefit from reduced model runtime.

0000↗

Loop Heat Pipe Temperature Oscillation Induced by Gravity Assist and Reservoir Heating

The Laser Thermal Control System (LCTS) for the Advanced Topographic Laser Altimeter System (ATLAS) to be installed on NASA's Ice, Cloud, and Land Elevation Satellite (ICESat-2) consists of a constant conductance heat pipe and a loop heat pipe (LHP) with an associated radiator. During the recent thermal vacuum testing of the LTCS where the LHP condenser/radiator was placed in a vertical position above the evaporator and reservoir, it was found that the LHP reservoir control heater power requirement was much higher than the analytical model had predicted. Even with the control heater turned on continuously at its full power, the reservoir could not be maintained at its desired set point temperature. An investigation of the LHP behaviors found that the root cause of the problem was fluid flow and reservoir temperature oscillations, which led to persistent alternate forward and reversed flow along the liquid line and an imbalance between the vapor mass flow rate in the vapor line and liquid mass flow rate in the liquid line. The flow and temperature oscillations were caused by an interaction between gravity and reservoir heating, and were exacerbated by the large thermal mass of the instrument simulator which modulated the net heat load to the evaporator, and the vertical radiator/condenser which induced a variable gravitational pressure head. Furthermore, causes and effects of the contributing factors to flow and temperature oscillations intermingled.

0000↗

Three Year Aging of Prototype Flight Laser at 10 Khz and 1 Ns Pulses with External Frequency Doubler for the Icesat-2 Mission

We present the results of three year life-aging of a specially designed prototype flight source laser operating at 1064 nm, 10 kHz, 1ns, 15W average power and external frequency doubler. The Fibertek-designed, slightly pressurized air, enclosed-container source laser operated at 1064 nm in active Q-switching mode. The external frequency doubler was set in a clean room at a normal air pressure. The goal of the experiment was to measure degradation modes at 1064 and 532 nm discreetly. The external frequency doubler consisted of a Lithium triborate, LiB3O5, crystal operated at non-critical phase-matching. Due to 1064 nm diagnostic needs, the amount of fundamental frequency power available for doubling was 13.7W. The power generated at 532 nm was between 8.5W and 10W, depending on the level of stress and degradation. The life-aging consisted of double stress-step operation for doubler crystal, at 0.35 J/cm2 for almost 1 year, corresponding to normal conditions, and then at 0.93 J/cm2 for the rest of the experiment, corresponding to accelerated testing. We observed no degradation at the first step and linear degradation at the second step. The linear degradation at the second stress-step was related to doubler crystal output surface changes and linked to laser-assisted contamination. We discuss degradation model and estimate the expected lifetime for the flight laser at 532 nm. This work was done within the laser testing for NASA's Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2) LIDAR at Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, MD with the goal of 1 trillion shots lifetime.

Frequency Doubling↗

Traveling Weather Disturbances in Mars Southern Extratropics: Sway of the Great Impact Basins

As on Earth, between late autumn and early spring on Mars middle and high latitudes within its atmosphere support strong mean thermal contrasts between the equator and poles (i.e. "baroclinicity"). Data collected during the Viking era and observations from both the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) indicate that this strong baroclinicity supports vigorous, large-scale eastward traveling weather systems (i.e. transient synoptic-period waves). Within a rapidly rotating, differentially heated, shallow atmosphere such as on Earth and Mars, such large-scale, extratropical weather disturbances are critical components of the global circulation. These wave-like disturbances act as agents in the transport of heat and momentum, and moreover generalized tracer quantities (e.g., atmospheric dust, water vapor and water-ice clouds) between low and high latitudes of the planet. The character of large-scale, traveling extratropical synoptic-period disturbances in Mars' southern hemisphere during late winter through early spring is investigated using a high-resolution Mars global climate model (Mars GCM). This global circulation model imposes interactively lifted (and radiatively active) dust based on a threshold value of the instantaneous surface stress. Compared to observations, the model exhibits a reasonable "dust cycle" (i.e. globally averaged, a more dusty atmosphere during southern spring and summer occurs). In contrast to their northern-hemisphere counterparts, southern synoptic-period weather disturbances and accompanying frontal waves have smaller meridional and zonal scales, and are far less intense synoptically. Influences of the zonally asymmetric (i.e. east-west varying) topography on southern large-scale weather disturbances are examined. Simulations that adapt Mars' full topography compared to simulations that utilize synthetic topographies emulating essential large-scale features of the southern middle latitudes indicate that Mars' transient barotropic/baroclinic eddies are significantly influenced by the great impact basins of this hemisphere (e.g., Argyre and Hellas). In addition, the occurrence of a southern storm zone in late winter and early spring is keyed particularly to the western hemisphere via orographic influences arising from the Tharsis highlands, and the Argyre and Hellas impact basins. Geographically localized transient-wave activity diagnostics are constructed that illuminate fundamental differences amongst such simulations and these are described.

Weather disturbances↗

Scientific Impact of MODIS C5 Calibration Degradation and C6+ Improvements

The Collection 6 (C6) MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) land and atmosphere data sets are scheduled for release in 2014. C6 contains significant revisions of the calibration approach to account for sensor aging. This analysis documents the presence of systematic temporal trends in the visible and near-infrared (500 m) bands of the Collection 5 (C5) MODIS Terra and, to lesser extent, in MODIS Aqua geophysical data sets. Sensor degradation is largest in the blue band (B3) of the MODIS sensor on Terra and decreases with wavelength. Calibration degradation causes negative global trends in multiple MODIS C5 products including the dark target algorithm's aerosol optical depth over land and Ångstrom exponent over the ocean, global liquid water and ice cloud optical thickness, as well as surface reflectance and vegetation indices, including the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and enhanced vegetation index (EVI). As the C5 production will be maintained for another year in parallel with C6, one objective of this paper is to raise awareness of the calibration-related trends for the broad MODIS user community. The new C6 calibration approach removes major calibrations trends in the Level 1B (L1B) data. This paper also introduces an enhanced C6C calibration of the MODIS data set which includes an additional polarization correction (PC) to compensate for the increased polarization sensitivity of MODIS Terra since about 2007, as well as detrending and Terra- Aqua cross-calibration over quasi-stable desert calibration sites. The PC algorithm, developed by the MODIS ocean biology processing group (OBPG), removes residual scan angle, mirror side and seasonal biases from aerosol and surface reflectance (SR) records along with spectral distortions of SR. Using the multiangle implementation of atmospheric correction (MAIAC) algorithm over deserts, we have also developed a detrending and cross-calibration method which removes residual decadal trends on the order of several tenths of 1% of the top-of-atmosphere (TOA) reflectance in the visible and near-infrared MODIS bands B1-B4, and provides a good consistency between the two MODIS sensors. MAIAC analysis over the southern USA shows that the C6C approach removed an additional negative decadal trend of Terra (Delta)NDVI approx.0.01 as compared to Aqua data. This change is particularly important for analysis of vegetation dynamics and trends in the tropics, e.g., Amazon rainforest, where the morning orbit of Terra provides considerably more cloud-free observations compared to the afternoon Aqua measurements.

Terra and Aqua↗

Three Three-Year Aging of Prototype Flight Laser at 10 kHz and 1 ns Pulses With External Frequency Doubler for ICESat-2 Mission

We present the results of three year life-aging of a specially designed prototype flight source laser operating at 1064 nm, 10 kHz, 1ns, 15W average power and external frequency doubler. The Fibertek-designed, slightly pressurized air, enclosed-container source laser operated at 1064 nm in active Q-switching mode. The external frequency doubler was set in a clean room at a normal air pressure. The goal of the experiment was to measure degradation modes at 1064 and 532 nm discreetly. The external frequency doubler consisted of a Lithium triborate, LiB3O5, crystal operated at non-critical phase-matching. Due to 1064 nm diagnostic needs, the amount of fundamental frequency power available for doubling was 13.7W. The power generated at 532 nm was between 8.5W and 10W, depending on the level of stress and degradation. The life-aging consisted of double stress-step operation for doubler crystal, at 0.35 Jcm2 for almost 1 year, corresponding to normal conditions, and then at 0.93 Jcm2 for the rest of the experiment, corresponding to accelerated testing. We observed no degradation at the first step and linear degradation at the second step. The linear degradation at the second stress-step was related to doubler crystal output surface changes and linked to laser-assisted contamination. We discuss degradation model and estimate the expected lifetime for the flight laser at 532 nm. This work was done within the laser testing for NASAs Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2) LIDAR at Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, MD with the goal of 1 trillion shots lifetime.

Lidar↗

Self-Raman Nd:YVO4 Laser and Electro-Optic Technology for Space-Based Sodium Lidar Instrument

We are developing a laser and electro-optic technology to remotely measure Sodium (Na) by adapting existing lidar technology with space flight heritage. The developed instrumentation will serve as the core for the planning of an Heliophysics mission targeted to study the composition and dynamics of Earth's mesosphere based on a spaceborne lidar that will measure the mesospheric Na layer. We present performance results from our diode-pumped tunable Q-switched self-Raman c-cut Nd:YVO4 laser with intra-cavity frequency doubling that produces multi-watt 589 nm wavelength output. The c-cut Nd:YVO4 laser has a fundamental wavelength that is tunable from 1063-1067 nanometers. A CW (Continuous Wave) External Cavity diode laser is used as a injection seeder to provide single-frequency grating tunable output around 1066 nanometers. The injection-seeded self-Raman shifted Nd:VO4 laser is tuned across the sodium vapor D2 line at 589 nanometers. We will review technologies that provide strong leverage for the sodium lidar laser system with strong heritage from the Ice Cloud and Land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2) Advanced Topographic Laser Altimeter System (ATLAS). These include a space-qualified frequency-doubled 9 watts-at-532-nanometer wavelength Nd:YVO4 laser, a tandem interference filter temperature-stabilized fused-silica-etalon receiver and high-bandwidth photon-counting detectors.

Krainak, Michael A.↗

Self-Raman Nd:YVO4 Laser and Electro-Optic Technology for Space-Based Sodium Lidar Instrument

We are developing a laser and electro-optic technology to remotely measure Sodium (Na) by adapting existing lidar technology with space flight heritage. The developed instrumentation will serve as the core for the planning of an Heliophysics mission targeted to study the composition and dynamics of Earth's mesosphere based on a spaceborne lidar that will measure the mesospheric Na layer. We present performance results from our diode-pumped tunable Q-switched self-Raman c-cut Nd:YVO4 laser with intra-cavity frequency doubling that produces multi-watt 589 nm wavelength output. The c-cut Nd:YVO4 laser has a fundamental wavelength that is tunable from 1063-1067 nanometers. A CW (Continuous Wave) External Cavity diode laser is used as a injection seeder to provide single-frequency grating tunable output around 1066 nanometers. The injection-seeded self-Raman shifted Nd:VO4 laser is tuned across the sodium vapor D2 line at 589 nanometers. We will review technologies that provide strong leverage for the sodium lidar laser system with strong heritage from the Ice Cloud and Land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2) Advanced Topographic Laser Altimeter System (ATLAS). These include a space-qualified frequency-doubled 9 watts-at-532-nanometer wavelength Nd:YVO4 laser, a tandem interference filter temperature-stabilized fused-silica-etalon receiver and high-bandwidth photon-counting detectors.

Krainak, Michael A.↗

Cryogenic Fiber Optic Assemblies for Spaceflight Environments: Design, Manufacturing, Testing, and Integration

Fiber optic assemblies have been used on spaceflight missions for many years as an enabling technology for routing, transmitting, and detecting optical signals. Due to the overwhelming success of NASA in implementing fiber optic assemblies on spaceflight science-based instruments, system scientists increasingly request fibers that perform in extreme environments while still maintaining very high optical transmission, stability, and reliability. Many new applications require fiber optic assemblies that will operate down to cryogenic temperatures as low as 20 Kelvin. In order for the fiber assemblies to operate with little loss in optical throughput at these extreme temperatures requires a system level approach all the way from how the fiber assembly is manufactured to how it is held, routed, and integrated. The NASA Goddard Code 562 Photonics Group has been designing, manufacturing, testing, and integrating fiber optics for spaceflight and other high reliability applications for nearly 20 years. Design techniques and lessons learned over the years are consistently applied to developing new fiber optic assemblies that meet these demanding environments. System level trades, fiber assembly design methods, manufacturing, testing, and integration will be discussed. Specific recent examples of ground support equipment for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST); the Ice, Cloud and Land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2); and others will be included.

Fiber Optic↗

Active and Widespread Halogen Chemistry in the Tropical and Subtropical Free Troposphere

Halogens in the troposphere are increasingly recognized as playing an important role for atmospheric chemistry, and possibly climate. Bromine and iodine react catalytically to destroy ozone (O3), oxidize mercury, and modify oxidative capacity that is relevant for the lifetime of greenhouse gases. Most of the tropospheric O3 and methane (CH4) loss occurs at tropical latitudes. Here we report simultaneous measurements of vertical profiles of bromine oxide (BrO) and iodine oxide (IO) in the tropical and subtropical free troposphere (10degN to 40degS), and show that these halogens are responsible for 34% of the column-integrated loss of tropospheric O3. The observed BrO concentrations increase strongly with altitude (approx.3.4 pptv at 13.5 km), and are 2-4 times higher than predicted in the tropical free troposphere. BrO resembles model predictions more closely in stratospheric air. The largest model low bias is observed in the lower tropical transition layer (TTL) over the tropical eastern Pacific Ocean, and may reflect a missing inorganic bromine source supplying an additional 2.5-6.4 pptv total inorganic bromine (Bry), or model overestimated Bry wet scavenging. Our results highlight the importance of heterogeneous chemistry on ice clouds, and imply an additional Bry source from the debromination of sea salt residue in the lower TTL. The observed levels of bromine oxidize mercury up to 3.5 times faster than models predict, possibly increasing mercury deposition to the ocean. The halogen-catalyzed loss of tropospheric O3 needs to be considered when estimating past and future ozone radiative effects.

Wang, Siyuan↗

Thermal Testing and Model Correlation for Advanced Topographic Laser Altimeter Instrument (ATLAS)

The Advanced Topographic Laser Altimeter System (ATLAS) part of the Ice Cloud and Land Elevation Satellite 2 (ICESat-2) is an upcoming Earth Science mission focusing on the effects of climate change. The flight instrument passed all environmental testing at GSFC (Goddard Space Flight Center) and is now ready to be shipped to the spacecraft vendor for integration and testing. This topic covers the analysis leading up to the test setup for ATLAS thermal testing as well as model correlation to flight predictions. Test setup analysis section will include areas where ATLAS could not meet flight like conditions and what were the limitations. Model correlation section will walk through changes that had to be made to the thermal model in order to match test results. The correlated model will then be integrated with spacecraft model for on-orbit predictions.

Thermal↗

MABEL Photon-Counting Laser Altimetry Data in Alaska for ICESat-2 Simulations and Development

Multiple Altimeter Beam Experimental Lidar (MABEL) maps Alaskan crevasses in detail, using 50 of the expected along-track Advanced Topographic Laser Altimeter System (ATLAS) signal-photon densities over summer ice sheets. Ice, Cloud, and Land Elevation Satellite 2 (ICESat-2) along-track data density, and spatial data density due to the multiple-beam strategy, will provide a new dataset to mid-latitude alpine glacier researchers.

Landsat-8↗

Modeling of Highly Instrumented Honeywell Turbofan Engine Tested with Ice Crystal Ingestion in the NASA Propulsion System Laboratory

The Propulsion Systems Laboratory (PSL), an altitude test facility at NASA Glenn Research Center, has been used to test a highly instrumented turbine engine at simulated altitude operating conditions. This is a continuation of the PSL testing that successfully duplicated the icing events that were experienced in a previous engine (serial LF01) during flight through ice crystal clouds, which was the first turbofan engine tested in PSL. This second model of the ALF502R-5A serial number LF11 is a highly instrumented version of the previous engine. The PSL facility provides a continuous cloud of ice crystals with controlled characteristics of size and concentration, which are ingested by the engine during operation at simulated altitudes. Several of the previous operating points tested in the LF01 engine were duplicated to confirm repeatability in LF11. The instrumentation included video cameras to visually illustrate the accretion of ice in the low pressure compressor (LPC) exit guide vane region in order to confirm the ice accretion, which was suspected during the testing of the LF01. Traditional instrumentation included static pressure taps in the low pressure compressor inner and outer flow path walls, as well as total pressure and temperature rakes in the low pressure compressor region. The test data was utilized to determine the losses and blockages due to accretion in the exit guide vane region of the LPC. Multiple data points were analyzed with the Honeywell Customer Deck. A full engine roll back point was modeled with the Numerical Propulsion System Simulation (NPSS) code. The mean line compressor flow analysis code with ice crystal modeling was utilized to estimate the parameters that indicate the risk of accretion, as well as to estimate the degree of blockage and losses caused by accretion during a full engine roll back point. The analysis provided additional validation of the icing risk parameters within the LPC, as well as the creation of models for estimating the rates of blockage growth and losses.

Simulation↗

Extratropical Weather Systems on Mars: Radiatively-Active Water Ice Effects

Extratropical, large-scale weather disturbances, namely transient, synoptic-period,baroclinic barotropic eddies - or - low- (high-) pressure cyclones (anticyclones), are components fundamental to global circulation patterns for rapidly rotating, differentially heated, shallow atmospheres such as Earth and Mars. Such "wave-like" disturbances that arise via (geophysical) fluid shear instability develop, mature and decay, and travel west-to-east in the middle and high latitudes within terrestrial-like planetary atmospheres. These disturbances serve as critical agents in the transport of heat and momentum between low and high latitudes of the planet. Moreover, they transport trace species within the atmosphere (e.g., water vapor/ice, other aerosols (dust), chemical species, etc). Between early autumn through early spring, middle and high latitudes on Mars exhibit strong equator-to-pole mean temperature contrasts (i.e., "baroclinicity"). Data collected during the Viking era and observations from both the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) indicate that such strong baroclinicity supports vigorous, large-scale eastward traveling weather systems [Banfield et al., 2004; Barnes et al., 1993]. A good example of traveling weather systems, frontal wave activity and sequestered dust activity from MGS/MOC image analyses is provided in Figure 1 (cf. Wang et al. [2005]). Utilizing an upgraded and evolving version of the NASA Ames Research Center (ARC) Mars global climate model, investigated here are key dynamical and physical aspects of simulated northern hemisphere (NH) large-scale extratropica lweather systems,with and without radiatively-active water ice clouds. Mars Climate Model:

cyclones↗

Daily Global Mapping of Mars Ozone Column Abundances with MARCI UV Band Imaging

Since November of 2006, The Mars Color Imager (MARCI) onboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) has obtained multiple-filter daily global images of Mars centered upon a local time (LT) of 3 pm. Ultraviolet imaging bands placed within (260 nm) and longward (320 nm) of Hartley band (240-300 nm) ozone (O3) absorption support retrievals of atmospheric ozone columns, with detection limits (approximately 1 micrometer-atm) appropriate to mapping elevated O3 abundances at low latitudes around Mars aphelion, and over mid-to-high latitudes during fall/winter/spring seasons. MARCI O3 maps for these regions reveal the detailed spatial (approximately 1 deg lat/long, for 8 x 8 pixel binned resolution) and temporal (daily, with substantial LT coverage at pole) behaviors of water vapor saturation conditions that force large variations in water vapor photolysis products (HOx-OH, HO2, and H) responsible for the catalytic destruction of O3 in the Mars atmosphere. A detailed description of the MARCI O3 data set, including measurement and retrieval characteristics, is provided in conjunction with comparisons to Mars Express SPICAM ozone measurements (Perrier, S. et al. [2006]. J. Geophys. Res. (Planets) 111) and LMD GCM simulated O3 abundances (Lefevre, F. [2004]. J. Geophys. Res. (Planets) 109). Presented aspects of the MARCI ozone mapping data set include aphelion increases in low latitude O3, dynamically evolving high latitude O3 maxima associated with planetary waves and weather fronts during northern early spring, and distinctive winter/spring O3 and CO increases within the Hellas Basin associated with transport of condensation enhanced south polar air mass. Comparisons of coincident MARCI measurements and LMD simulations for ice cloud and O3 columns are considered in the context of potential heterogeneous photochemical processes (Lefevre, F. [2008]. Nature 454, 971-975), which are not strongly evidenced in the MARCI observations. Modest interannual variations are exhibited, most notably a 20% reduction in aphelion low latitude O3 columns following the 2007 perihelic global dust storm.

Clancy, R. Todd↗